 |
| Herpetoreas abros Liu, Hou, Zhou, Zuo, Yin & Rao, 2024 |
Abstract
A new species of the genus Herpetoreas is described from Yunnan Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve, Yingjiang County, Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The new species can be separated from its congeners by a combination of the following characteristics: tail length to total length being 0.29, dorsal scales being all strongly keeled, 165 ventrals, divided cloacal plate, 89 pairs of subcaudals, 24 maxillary teeth, last two maxillary teeth being distinctly enlarged, approximately 13 white speckles presenting on anterior lateral surface of body, pale pink anterior venter, pink posterior venter, and rose red ventral tail. The genetic divergence between the new species and other species of this genus ranged from 6.7% to 13.0% in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The new taxon represents the fifth species of the genus Herpetoreas in China and the first species of this genus in Yunnan Province.
Keywords: Cyt b; morphology; systematics; taxonomy; Yunnan Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve
 |
| Close-up views of the head of the holotype (KIZ 2024150) of Herpetoreas abros sp. nov. in life. (A) left side; (B) right side; (C) dorsal side; (D) ventral side. |
 |
| The holotype (KIZ 2024150) of Herpetoreas abros sp. nov. in life. (A) left view; (B) right view; (C) dorsal view; (D) ventral view. |
Herpetoreas abros sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Body cylindrical, snout–vent length 554 mm, total length 775 mm; tail relatively long, tail length/total length 0.29; dorsal scales in 19–19–17 rows, all strongly keeled; ventrals 165; cloacal plate divided; subcaudals 89, paired; preocular one, postoculars three; supralabials eight, third–fifth entering orbit; maxillary teeth 24, last two distinctly enlarged, separated from anterior teeth by a small diastema; upper lips white, three black vertical stripes on anterior upper lip on each side; approximately 13 white speckles on anterior lateral surface of body; anterior venter pale pink and posterior venter pink; ventral tail rose red.
Etymology: The specific epithet “abros” is a Latinized adjective in a nominative singular derived from the classical Greek word “abros” (aβρός), meaning “cute”, “handsome”, and “delicate”. The name is given in reference to the cute appearance of this species. We suggest “Cute Himalayas Keelback” as its English common name and “铜壁关腹链蛇 (Pinyin: tóng bì guān fù liàn shé)” as its Chinese common name according to its type locality.
Shuo Liu, Mian Hou, Hongxin Zhou, Changsheng Zuo, Fawang Yin and Dingqi Rao. 2024. A New Species of Herpetoreas Günther, 1860 (Serpentes: Natricidae) from Yunnan, China. Diversity. 16(12); 768. DOI: doi.org/10.3390/d16120768
