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| Sinomicrurus peinani
Liu, Yan, Hou, Wang, Nguyen, Murphy, Che & Guo, 2020
Guangxi Coral Snake | 广西华珊瑚蛇 ||
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A new species of Sinomicrurus Slowinski, Boundy, and Lawson, 2001 is described herein based on a series of specimens. The new species, Sinomicrurus peinani sp. nov., occurs in southern China and northern Vietnam. Sinomicrurus peinani sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) 30–35 black cross-bands on body and tail; (2) 13 dorsal scale rows throughout, all smooth; (3) white belly with black cross-bands or irregular spots; (4) broad white transverse bar on top of head with inverted V-shaped anterior margin, white bar wider than anterior black bar; and (5) frontal V-like, 1.3 times as long as wide. In addition, new occurrences of S. houi in Guangxi, China, and Vietnam are discussed.
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| Sinomicrurus peinani sp. nov.: General view of holotype (YBU 16086) in life and habitat of new species. |
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| Sinomicrurus peinani sp. nov.: Dorsal and ventral views of holotype (YBU 16086) in preservative. |
Sinomicrurus peinani sp. nov.
Diagnosis: All examined specimens possessed a small to medium-sized body, varying from 368 mm to 620 mm, as well as: (1) 30–35 black cross-bands on body and tail; (2) 13 dorsal scale rows throughout, all smooth; (3) white belly with black speckles or bands; (4) broad white transverse bar on top of head with inverted V-shaped anterior margin, white bar wider than anterior black bar; and (5) frontal V-like, 1.3 times as long as wide.
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| Sinomicrurus peinani sp. nov.D: Dorsal, ventral, and lateral views of head of holotype (YBU 16086) in preservative. E: Dorsal, ventral, and lateral views of head and ventral view of belly of Sinomicrurus macclellandi (YBU 14127) from Sichuan Province, China. |
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| Bayesian 50% majority-rule consensus tree inferred from COI. Posterior probabilities and bootstrap support values for clades are shown adjacent to nodes to which they refer. |
Ecological notes: The specimens were found in meadowland in bamboo forest (Figure 1A). An individual of Achalinus sp. was found in the stomach of Sinomicrurus peinani sp. nov. No data on diet or reproduction are available.
Etymology: The species is named after Professor Pei-Nan Yu, a distinguished doctor in China, in recognition of his great contribution to the treatment of snakebite.
We suggest the following common names for this species: “广西华珊瑚蛇” (Chinese) and Guangxi Coral Snake (English).
Distribution: This species is currently known from China (Cangwu, Guangxi) and Vietnam (Cao Bằng and Vinh Phuc). The speciemens from Vietnam were unavailable for examination, but molecular phylogeney indicated that they should be conspecific with those from Cangwu, Guangxi, China (Supplementary Appendix S3).
Qin Liu, Jiao-Wen Yan, Shao-Bing Hou, Ping Wang, Sang Ngoc Nguyen, Robert W. Murphy, Jing Che and Peng Guo. 2020. A New Species of the Genus Sinomicrurus (Serpentes: Elapidae) from China and Vietnam. Zoological Research. 41(2); 194-198. DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.023
