Sunday, May 9, 2021

[Herpetology • 2021] Systematic Status of the Rare Himalayan Wolf Snake Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906 (Serpentes: Colubridae)


Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906 

Photo by Abhijit Das

Abstract
Lycodon mackinnoni is a poorly known Himalayan endemic snake known from Western Himalaya. Since the original description of L. mackinnoni almost 112 years ago, this species was not reported from its type locality and its phylogenetic position remain unknown. We herein, provide detail morphological description, comparison with type material, phylogenetic relationship with its congeners and new natural history information.

Keywords: Reptilia, Colubrids, DNA, Himalayas, Lycodon, rediscovery, taxonomy

Lycodon mackinnoni (WII- ADR197). ex-situ.  
Photo by Abhijit Das




Swati Nawani, V. Deepak, Kumudani Bala Gautam, Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Bitupan Boruah and Abhijit Das. 2021. Systematic Status of the Rare Himalayan Wolf Snake Lycodon mackinnoni Wall, 1906 (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa. 4966(3); 305–320. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4966.3.3