Saint Giron's Kukri Snake

description

Description of the holotype (Figs. 1 – 6). Body robust but elongate; head ovoid, short, thick, barely distinct from the poorly defined neck; snout elongate, long (28.9 % of HL, or 1.8 times as long as diameter of eye); pupil round; tail long, robust, tapering. Dentition: 12 (9 + 3) maxillary teeth, the last three being strongly enlarged and blade-shaped. SVL: 435 mm; TaL: 103 mm; TL: 538 mm; HL: 18.90 mm; ratio TaL / TL: 0.191. Body scalation: DSR: 19 – 17 – 15; scales small and all smooth. VEN: 170 (plus 2 preventrals), angulated; SC: 59, all paired; anal plate entire. Scale row reductions as follows: 4 + 5 ↔ 4 (62) 4 + 5 ↔ 4 (125) 19 —————— 17 —————— 15 4 + 5 ↔ 4 (66) 4 + 5 ↔ 4 (127) Head scalation: Rostral thick, curved onto upper snout surface, well visible from above, separating internasals by about one half of their length; nasals divided, “ butterfly-shaped ”, about 1.8 times as long as high, vertically divided, with the posterior part smaller; nostril large, oval, piercing top of middle of nasal; internasals subrectangular, in broad contact, shorter than prefrontals; prefrontals subrectangular, distinctly wider than long; suture between prefrontals 1.7 times longer than the

A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from southern Vietnam and Cambodia

diagnosis

Diagnosis. A species of the genus Oligodon cyclurus- group, characterized by (1) very long, deeply forked hemipenes, reaching to at least 28 th SC, thin, smooth and not spinose throughout; (2) a long and thick tail in males with a ratio Tal / TL> 0.19; (3) 19 – 17 (18) – 15 dorsal scale rows; (4) reductions between 19 and 17 rows occurring between VEN 62 and 84 (x = 77.3); (5) 10 – 12 maxillary teeth, the last three strongly enlarged; (6) anal plate single; (7) full complement of head scales, including a presubocular in all specimens; (8) 8 supralabials; (9) 2 anterior temporals; and (10) blotched dorsal pattern, with large blotches. Oligodon saintgironsi spec. nov. can be diagnosed by the combination of 19 dorsal scale rows on the anterior half to third of the body, 17 – 18 dorsal scale rows at midbody, a long and strong tail in both sexes, very long, deeply forked hemipenes, and a blotched dorsal pattern. It differs from all other species of the Oligodon cyclurus - group by the combination of (1) the length of hemipenes, (2) the relative length of the tail, and (3) in having only 17 or 18 scale rows at midbody vs. 19, 21, and 23 rows in all others. Oligodon saintgironsi spec. nov

A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from southern Vietnam and Cambodia

distribution

Distribution (Fig. 11). Vietnam. Currently known only from the south of the country: Dong Nai Province: Bien Hoa. District of Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City. Cambodia. No precise locality. Oligodon saintgironsi spec. nov. occurs in sympatry with O. ocellatus. Both species are quite similar in pattern. Because the latter species has been considered valid only quite recently (Saint Girons, 1972), we provide a summary of its taxonomy and variation.

A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from southern Vietnam and Cambodia

etymology

Etymology. This species is named in honour of Dr. Hubert Saint Girons (1926 – 2000), noted French histologist and herpetologist, formerly in the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, in the Paris University and in the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. This name is a genitive based on the author’s last name. Although a specialist of European vipers, H. Saint Girons conducted research in Cambodia (a. o., Saint Girons, 1972) and was the first recent author to recognize the validity of Oligodon ocellatus (Morice, 1875) for Indochinese populations with 19 dorsal scale rows, and the synonymy of O. analepticos with this taxon.

A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from southern Vietnam and Cambodia