A New Species of the Natricine Snake Genus Amphiesma from Borneo (Squamata: Natricidae)

Patrick David, Gernot Vogel

Abstract


A new species of the natricine snake genus Amphiesma is described from a single specimen obtained from Borneo by Franz Steindachner in 1878. Amphiesma arquus sp. nov. is distinguished from other species of the Sunda Region by the combination of an elongated body, 17 + 3 enlarged maxillary teeth, 17 – 17 – 15 dorsal scale rows, all strongly keeled, absence of a loreal, a high number of ventrals and subcaudals, supralabials ornate with white arched markings, and an obscured venter. Its generic position, especially in respect with the genus Tropidonophis Jan, 1863, is discussed. This new species is compared with other Asian natricine species with 17 dorsal scale rows. A key to natricine species known from Borneo is provided.

Keywords


Borneo; Sunda Region; Serpentes; Natricinae; Amphiesma; Amphiesma arquus sp. nov.; Tropidonophis

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alcala A. C. (1986), Guide to Philippine Flora and Fauna. Vol. X. Amphibians and Reptiles, Natural Resources Management Center, Ministry of Natural Resources and University of the Philippines, Manila.

David P., Bain R. H., Nguyen Q. T., Orlov N. L., Vogel G., Vu N. T., and Ziegler T. (2007), «A new species of the natricine snake genus Amphiesma from the Indochinese Region (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae)», Zootaxa, 1462, 41 – 60.

David P. and Das I. (2003), «A new species of the snake genus Amphiesma (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae) from western Sumatra, Indonesia», Raffles Bull. Zool., 51(2), 413 – 419.

Dowling H. G. (1951), «A proposed standard system of counting ventrals in snakes», Br. J. Herpetol., 1(5), 97 – 99.

Leviton A. E. (1970), «Description of a new subspecies of Rhabdophis auriculata in the Philippines, with comments on the zoogeography of Mindanao Island», Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. Ser. 4, 38(18), 347 – 362.

Malnate E. V. (1960), «Systematic division and evolution of the colubrid snake genus Natrix, with comments on the subfamily Natricinae», Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 112(3), 41 – 71.

Malnate E. V. (1962), «The relationships of five species of the Asiatic natricine snake genus Amphiesma», Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 114(8), 251 – 299.

Malnate E. V. and Underwood G. (1988), «Australasian natricine snakes of the genus Tropidonophis», Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 140(1), 59 – 201.

Manthey U. and Grossmann W. (1997), Amphibien and Reptilien Südostasiens, Natur- und Tier-Verlag, Münster.

Meirte D. (1992), «Clés de détermination des Serpents d’Afrique», Ann. Mus. Roy. l’Afr. Centrale Sci. Zool., 267, 1 – 152.

Peters J. A. and Orejas-Miranda B. (1970), «Catalogue of the neotropical Squamata. Part 1. Snakes», Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 297, I – VIII + 1 – 347.

Powell R., Collins J. T., and Hooper E. D., Jr. (1998), A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada, Univ. of Kansas Press, Lawrence (Kansas).

Smith M. A. (1943), The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, including the whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III. Serpentes, Taylor and Francis, London.

Steindachner F. (1876), «Die Schlangen und Eidechsen der Galapagos-Inseln», in: Festschrift zur Feier des 25-jährigen Bestehens der kaiserlich-königlichen zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, Wien, pp. 303 – 330.

Stuebing R. B. and Inger R. F. (1999), A Field Guide to the Snakes of Borneo, Natural History Publ., Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia).

Thomas R. (1997), «Galapagos terrestrial snakes: biogeography and systematics», Herpetol. Nat. Hist., 5(1), 19 – 40.

Tweedie M. W. F. (1983), The Snakes of Malaya. Third Edition, Singapore National Printers, Singapore.

Zhao E., Huang M., Zong Y., Zheng J., Huang Z., Yang D., and Li D. (eds.) (1998), Fauna Sinica. Reptilia. Vol. 3. Squamata. Serpentes, Science Press, Beijing [in Chinese].

Ziegler T. and Le K. Q. (2006), «A new natricine snake of the genus Amphiesma (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) from the central Truong Son, Vietnam», Zootaxa, 1225, 39 – 56.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2010-17-2-121-127

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.