Distribution, Biology and Comparative Morphology of the Snakes of Xenopeltis Genus (Serpentes: Macrostomata: Xenopeltidae) in Vietnam

Nikolai L. Orlov

Abstract


New records of X. hainanensis, data on distribution and natural history of X. hainanensis and X. unicolor in Vietnam as well as comparison of the morphological characters of both species are at first presented. Morphological character set includes the data on the body, head and tail proportions, eye, skull and brain case shape, craniological and scalation characters. More wide diagnosis of Xenopeltis genus and identification keys are presented. New data show considerable differences in morphology and biology of these species that are important for the estimation of taxonomic status of X. hainanensis and phylogeny of the primitive snakes.


Keywords


Reptilia; Serpentes; Xenopeltidae; Xenopeltis; X. unicolor; X. hainanensis; distribution; morphology; natural history; Vietnam

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2000-7-2-103-114

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