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| Oligodon zhangfujii Jiang, Wu, Huang, Ren, Gao, Lyu & L, 2024 |
Abstract
A new species of the Kukri snake genus Oligodon is described from Mêdog County in the eastern Himalayas of China. The species, named Oligodon zhangfujii sp. nov., can be distinguished from all known congeners by a combination of the following morphological characteristics: (1) 17-17-15 dorsal scale rows; (2) six supralabials, third and fourth entering orbit; (3) one loreal present; (4) seven infralabials, first to fourth in contact with anterior chin shields; (5) 173 ventral scales and 47 pairs of subcaudal scales; (6) cloacal plate divided; (7) hemipenis single, shallowly bilobed, with large calcareous spines and a calyx area, sulcus spermaticus single; and (8) eight maxillary teeth. Phylogenetic analyses based on two mitochondrial genes revealed that this species occupies an independent phylogenetic position, distinct from the eight recognized species groups within the genus, and represents a sister taxon to the clade comprising the O. theobaldi and O. cinereus groups. The description is based on a single road-killed individual. As such, ecological data for the species remain sparse, underscoring the need for additional field surveys across the eastern Himalayan region.
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| Morphological features of adult male holotype CIB 121710 of Oligodon zhangfujii sp. nov. as a fresh carcass. Photos by Jun-Jie Huang. |
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| Habitat of Oligodon zhangfujii sp. nov. in Beibeng Township, Mêdog County, Xizang, China. Photo by Ru-Xue Li. Inset on bottom right shows first observation of fresh road-killed specimen CIB 121710. Photo by Di-Hao Wu. |
Oligodon zhangfujii sp. nov.
Ke Jiang, Di-Hao Wu, Jun-Jie Huang, Jin-Long Ren, Zong-Yuan Gao, Zhi-Tong Lyu and Jia-tang Li. 2024. Description of A New Species of Kukri Snake (Serpentes: Colubridae: Oligodon) from Xizang, China. Asian Herpetological Research. DOI: doi.org/10.3724/ahr.2095-0357.2024.0058
