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| Ahaetulla longirostris Mirza, Pattekar, Verma, Stuart, Purkayastha, Mohapatra & Patel, 2024 |
Abstract
A new species of long-snouted arboreal snake of the genus Ahaetulla Link, 1807, is described from the Indian states of Bihar and Meghalaya. Molecular phylogenetic analysis using three mitochondrial genes recovered the new species as a member of the A. fusca clade and as a sister the species to A. laudankia. The new species differs from its congeners in bearing an elongate rostral appendage, green or ochre dorsum, orange-brown belly, and moderately keeled vertebral dorsal scale row. This description of a new reptile species highlights the need for systematic documentation of biodiversity in the region.
Keywords: Bihar, Himalayas, Meghalaya, phylogeny, taxonomy, synonymy
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| Ahaetulla longirostris sp. nov. holotype female NCBS NRC AA-0023 showing head scalation, (a) dorsal view, (b) left lateral view, (c) ventral view. |
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| An uncollected individual of Ahaetulla longirostris sp. nov. from Valmiki Tiger Reserve (a & b), (c) paratype male and female from Guwahati. |
Ahaetulla longirostris sp. nov.
Diagnosis. A medium sized Ahaetulla with maximum TL 1,275 mm having the combination of a long dermal appendage; 193–207 ventrals, 139–163 subcaudals; dorsal scale reduction from 15 to 13 rows that occurs between 145–147 ventrals; dorsal scales of the vertebral and adjacent row on each side moderately keeled; dorsum bright green or ochre-brown throughout with a yellow hue on the lateral and ventral aspect of the head, a yellowish-white lateral stripe running the entire length of the snake from the neck; and venter bright orangish brown with a pair of pale longitudinal stripes.
Etymology. The specific epithet is taken from longus (L.) for long and rostrum (L.) for snout in reference to the very long rostral appendage.
Zeeshan A. Mirza, Soham Pattekar, Sourabh Verma, Bryan L. Stuart, Jayaditya Purkayastha, Pratyush P. Mohapatra and Harshil Patel. 2024. A New Long-snouted Vine Snake Species in the Genus Ahaetulla Link, 1807 (Colubridae: Chrysopeleinae) from India. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2024.04.017