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| Lycodon namdongensis Luu, Ziegler, Ha, Le & Hoang, 2019 |
Abstract
We describe a new species of the genus Lycodon based on an adult male specimen from Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. Lycodon namdongensis sp. nov. is differentiated from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: dorsal scales in 17−17−15 rows, all smooth; supralabials 8; infralabials 10; one large loreal on each side, separated from the eye; cloacal single; ventral scales 218 (plus two preventral scales); subcaudals 85, paired; a total length of 723 mm; tail / total length ratio 0.205; dorsal head pattern whitish grey; dorsal surface of body with 23 narrow greyish cream bands; dorsal surface of tail with 14 cream bands; ventral surface of body mostly cream with a few small dark spots posteriorly; ventral surface of tail dark grey. Based on molecular comparisons, Lycodon namdongensis sp. nov. is recovered as a sister species to L. futsingensis with strong support values from all three analyses. The new species is at least 6.5% genetically divergent from other species within this clade as shown by a fragment of more than 1000 pbs of the mitochondrial cytochrome b. This discovery increases the number of Lycodon species known from Vietnam to 15.
Keywords: Reptilia, Lycodon, new species, karst forest, morphology, phylogeny, taxonomy, Vietnam
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| Dorsal view of the holotype of Lycodon namdongensis sp. nov. (VNUF R.2017.23) in life. Photo: N. V. Ha |
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| Dorsal (A) and lateral head (B) views of the holotype of Lycodon namdongensis sp. nov. (VNUF R.2017.23). Drawings by T. T. Hoang. |
Lycodon namdongensis sp. nov.
Vinh Quang Luu, Thomas Ziegler, Nghia Van Ha, Minh Duc Le and Tuoi Thi Hoang. 2019. A New Species of Lycodon Boie, 1826 (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. Zootaxa. 4586(2); 261–277. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4586.2.3
Researchgate.net/publication/332462303_A_new_species_of_Lycodon_from_Thanh_Hoa_Vietnam
