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| Oligodon cicadophagus Pauwels, Donbundit, Sumontha & Meesook, 2025 |
Abstract
We describe a new kukri snake, Oligodon cicadophagus sp. nov., from the limestone reliefs of the Phuket Mountain Range in Krabi and Phang-Nga provinces in southern peninsular Thailand. A member of the Oligodon cinereus group, it can be distinguished from all other congeneric species by the combination of its maximal known snout-vent length of 537 mm; 11 maxillary teeth; eight supralabials; one preocular and one presubocular; 17-17-15 dorsal scale rows; 159–168 ventrals, and 50 subcaudals in males; a single anal scale; hemipenes bilobed with large broad lobes, no distinct flounced calyces and unforked sulcus spermaticus; dorsal surface of head, body and tail uniformly olive-gray, without nuchal chevron, dorsal stripes, crossbands, blotches or reticulations; and a venter cream anteriorly turning to dark gray posteriorly.
Reptilia, Thai-Malay Peninsula, Oligodon cicadophagus sp. nov., taxonomy, limestone cave, Phuket Mountain range, cicada
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| Live paratype of Oligodon cicadophagus sp. nov. (CMZ--2626) Photographs by M. Sumontha. |
Oligodon cicadophagus sp. nov.
Etymology. The specific epithet is a Latinized adjective meaning “cicada eater” and refers to the unusual prey item recovered from an individual in Phang-Nga Province, Thailand.
The suggest the following common names: งูปี่แก้วกระบี่ (Ngu Pi Kaew Krabi, Thai),
Cicada-eating Kukri Snake (English),
and Oligodon cicadophage (French).
Cicada-eating Kukri Snake (English),
and Oligodon cicadophage (French).
Olivier S. G. PAUWELS, Nattasuda DONBUNDIT, Montri SUMONTHA and Worawitoo MEESOOK. 2025. Oligodon cicadophagus, A New kukri snake from southern peninsular Thailand (Squamata: Colubridae). Zootaxa. 5569(2); 345-364. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5569.2.7
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