Bismarck Ground Snake

description

Synonyms. None. Original name. Stegonotus heterurus Boulenger, 1893: 367. George Albert Boulenger (1858 – 1937; Fig. 17 E) was a highly prolific Belgian-British naturalist associated for most of his professional life with the British Museum of Natural History. The species name heterurus is a word of Greek origin, combining “ heteros ” [different] and “ oura ” [tail] in reference to the fact that the subcaudal scales in this species are not paired, the character state in all species of Stegonotus known at the time of Boulenger’s description. The species description was presented in English. The image of Boulenger (Fig. 17 E; reproduced under license no. 5449 from the National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom) was taken in 1917 by the British portrait photographer Walter Stoneman (1876 – 1958). Syntypes. BMNH 1946.1. 14.91 (formerly BMNH 83.3.17.13), 1946.1.14.95 (formerly BMNH 77.2.24.19), and 1946.1.15.10 (formerly BMNH 79.10.31.7), adult males (Fig. 22).

The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)

discussion

Comments. In order to anchor the name S. heterurus to a single specimen and stabilize the species, we hereby designate BMNH 1946.1.14.95 (Fig. 22 A – E; Table 1) as the lectotype (Code, Article 74.7). It is the largest of the three syntypes, in an excellent state of preservation, and possesses the characteristics we consider diagnostic for the species. This means that the type locality for the species becomes restricted to Duke of York Island, and it renders BMNH 1946.1. 14.91 and 1946.1.15.10 as paralectotypes. Given the very wide distribution of S. heterurus across New Britain and New Ireland, an archipelago generally known for its reptile diversity and endemism (e. g., Foufopoulos & Richards 2007; Richards 2011; Clegg & Jocque 2016), the presence of a single species of Stegonotus is perhaps surprising. This is especially noteworthy considering the recently unveiled endemism in the Raja Ampat Archipelago (Ruane et al. 2017) and the diversity we recognize for the Moluccas in this paper. Further research in these islands and the collection of new specimens would allow a molecular analysis to discern the genetic structure in this species and would, perhaps, uncover greater diversity

The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)

materials_examined

Type localities. The localities provided by Boulenger (1893) and in the specimen register at the BMNH for the type series of S. heterurus are, unfortunately, rather vague. Two specimens (BMNH 1946.1.14.95, 1946.1.15.10) are from “ Duke of York Id. ” [Duke of York Island, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea], whereas BMNH 1946.1.14.91 is from ” New Britain ” [the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, comprising East New Britain Province and West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea]. Of these, Duke of York is the largest island of the Duke of York Islands, a group of relatively small islands (total land area 58 km 2), with maximum dimensions of 10 km in a north – south direction and 9 km in an east – west direction, and with a maximum elevation of ca. 110 m. In contrast, New Britain is a large (36,520 km 2) and topographically and ecologically diverse island (with a mountainous topography, especially in the eastern part of the island, featuring a highest elevation of nearly 2500 m), and can hardly be considered a “ locality ” in the strict sense. Collection. Boulenger (1893) listed the Duke of York syntypes (BMNH 1946.1.14.95, 1946.1.15.10) as having been collected b

The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)