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| Hebius shantianfangi Liu, J. Wang, Hou, Zhang, Q. Wang, Zong, Zhou, Rao, David & Vogel, 2025 |
Abstract
A new species of the genus Hebius is described from Yunnan Province, China. The new species was previously identified as H. boulengeri, but it can be separated from H. boulengeri and other species of this genus by a combination of the following characters: 19-19-17 dorsal scale rows, 148–155 ventrals, 90–105 subcaudals, one preocular, three postoculars, 23–25 maxillary teeth, a distinct continuous white streak from posteroventral margin of eye extending backward and upward to nape to connect with dorsolateral stripe on each side, and white venter. The genetic divergence between the new species and H. boulengeri was 6.6% and the genetic divergences between the new species and other congeners ranged from 6.8% to 15.9% in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.
Key words: Keelback snake, mitochondrial gene, morphological comparison, phylogenetic analysis, Pu’er City, taxonomy, Xishuangbanna Prefecture
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| The holotype (KIZ 064970) of Hebius shantianfangi sp. nov. in life. A. Dorsal view; B. Ventral view. |
Hebius shantianfangi sp. nov.
Diagnosis. Body slender, SVL 332–406 mm, TL 506–610 mm; tail relatively long, TaL/TL 0.31–0.34; dorsal scales in 19-19-17 rows, all strongly keeled except for 1st row on each side; ventrals 148–155; cloacal plate divided; subcaudals 90–105, paired; loreal one, not entering orbit; preocular one, postoculars three; supralabials mostly nine, rarely ten, mostly 4th–6th entering orbit, rarely 5th–7th entering orbit; infralabials 9–11; maxillary teeth 23–25, last one or two distinctly enlarged, no diastema separating enlarged posterior teeth with anterior ones; a distinct continuous white streak from posteroventral margin of eye extending backward and upward to nape on each side; dorsolateral stripes present; venter white, ventrolateral blotches present, composed of a dark grey spot on edge of each ventral on each side.
Etymology. Named after the late renowned Chinese storytelling artist, Tianfang Shan (17.12.1934–11.09.2018). This species was previously confused with H. boulengeri, whose Chinese name is “白眉腹链蛇”. In China, when “白眉” is mentioned, people first think of Tianfang Shan’s classic storytelling “白眉大侠”. This specific epithet commemorates Tianfang Shan, who devoted his whole life to storytelling and left countless indelible memories for people. We suggest “Shan’s keelback” as the English name and “单氏腹链蛇” (Pinyin: shàn shì fù liàn shé) as the Chinese name of the new species.
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| Comparison of the body coloration between Hebius shantianfangi sp. nov. and H. boulengeri. A. Holotype (KIZ 064970) of Hebius shantianfangi sp. nov.; B. H. boulengeri from Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, China. |
Shuo Liu, JiShan Wang, Mian Hou, Liang Zhang, Qiaoyan Wang, Chunmiao Zong, Jiang Zhou, Dingqi Rao, Patrick David and Gernot Vogel. 2025. A New Species of the Genus Hebius (Squamata, Natricidae), previously confused with H. boulengeri (Gressitt, 1937). ZooKeys. 1254: 263-282. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1254.161130
