Malayan Banded Wolf Snake

Lycodon subcinctus Boie 1827

Lycodon subcinctus species complex: 1a. Crossbands on body present in both adults and juveniles................................................... 2 1b. Crossbands on body absent in both adults and juveniles............................................. L. irwini 2a. Total ventrals + subcaudals 2b. Total ventrals + subcaudals> 290 (median> 290).............................................. L. subcinctus 3a. Ventrals 70 (median> 74.40); total crossbands on body and tail in juveniles 3b. Ventrals> 198 (median> 205.00); subcaudals 15 (median 22.44); seventh supralabial largest....................................................... L. sealei

First description of the male of Lycodon irwini Naveen, Zeeshan, Mirza, Choure & Chandramouli, 2025 (Squamata: Colubridae), with an updated account of the herpetofauna of the Great Nicobar Islands, India

description

Description of the neotype of Lycodon subcinctus (Figure 1). After 170 years in preservative, specimen NHMUK 1860.3.19.1307 (adult female) remains in good condition. The body is slender, with a long tail that gradually tapers to a blunt, enlarged terminal scute. The head is oblong, longer than wide, slightly flattened, and moderately distinct from the neck. The snout is elongated, projecting beyond the lower jaw, rounded in dorsal view, and truncate with a slight depression in lateral profile, featuring a weak canthus rostralis. The nostrils are large, positioned dorsolaterally, and round. The eyes are medium-sized, with an elliptical and slightly vertically orientated pupil. Measurements. Snout-vent length 824 mm; tail length 179 mm; total length 1,003 mm; tail length / total length ratio 0.178. Head length (from tip of snout to posterior margin of jaws) 26.42 mm; head width (at widest point) 15.49 mm; eye diameter (horizontal diameter) 3.35 mm; eye-snout distance (from tip of snout to anterior margin of eye) 4.56 mm; eyenostril distance (from anterior margin of eye to midpoint of nostril) 2.79 mm. Body scalation. Dorsal scale rows 17 - 17 - 15; dorsal scale rows smooth anteriorly

Designation of a Neotype for Lycodon subcinctus F. Boie, 1827 (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae)

materials_examined

— Holotype: NHMUK 1860.3.19.1307. Type locality: Pinang now Penang Island, Penang State, Malaysia.

Designation of a Neotype for Lycodon subcinctus F. Boie, 1827 (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae)

materials_examined

— Neotype by present designation: NHMUK 1860.3.19.1307 (holotype of Lycodon platurinus Cantor, 1847). Type locality by virtue of neotype designation: “ Pinang ” now Penang Island (Pulau Pinang), State of Penang, Malaysia.

Designation of a Neotype for Lycodon subcinctus F. Boie, 1827 (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae)