Lycodon anakradaya, Nguyen & Duong & Wood Jr. & Grismer, 2022
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publication ID |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e82201 |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E1F61203-222C-418A-A8AC-100CE72604A5 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/FF1EA2E5-923B-4FA6-BF92-BECBEF7B824E |
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taxon LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:act:FF1EA2E5-923B-4FA6-BF92-BECBEF7B824E |
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treatment provided by |
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scientific name |
Lycodon anakradaya |
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sp. nov. |
Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov.
Figures 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5
Suggested common name.
Rhade wolf snake - Rắn khuyết Ê đê.
Holotype.
Adult male (SIEZC 20247) collected on 21 December 2020 by Anh The Nguyen from Song Giang River Valley (12.37079°N, 108.83643°E; at elevation 493 m a.s.l.), Khanh Trung Commune, Khanh Vinh District, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.
Paratype.
Juvenile (SIEZC 20248) collected on 21 August 2020 by Anh The Nguyen from Song Giang River Valley (12.37079°N, 108.83643°E; at elevation 580 m a.s.l.), Khanh Trung Commune, Khanh Vinh District, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.
Diagnosis.
Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov. is separated from all other species in the L. rufozonatus complex by having the combination of a maximum SVL length of 790 mm; TaL 190 mm; 17 or 18-17-15 dorsal scale rows; 12 maxillary teeth; eight supralabials with the 3rd-5th contacting the eye; nine or 10 infralabials; one preocular; two postoculars; an elongate loreal not contacting the eye; two anterior temporals; three posterior temporals; 223-232 ventral scales; 87 paired subcaudal scales; a divided precloacal plate; five keeled vertebral scale rows from midbody to vent; uniform dark-brown to black adult head pattern; no wide light-colored nuchal-occipital collar; dark-brown/black dorsal ground color; 12 wide, orangish body bands; 5-7 orangish caudal bands; orangish dorsal bands on ventrolateral section of body as opposed to a reticulated pattern; and anterior one-half of venter orangish grading into a dark-brown posteriorly. These characters are scored across all species of the L. rufozonatus complex in Table 2 View Table 2 .
Description of holotype
(Figs 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 ; Table 3 View Table 3 ). Head flattened slightly sloping anteriorly, distinct from the neck, HL 27.8 mm, HW 18.0 mm, HH 11.8 mm, snout somewhat elongate, SnL 8.2 mm, EN 5.2 mm; nostril oval, large, in the middle of the nasal, IND 6.0 mm; eye moderately sized, ED 4.0 mm, with a vertically elliptic pupil; rostral triangular, hardly visible from above; nasal vertically divided by a furrow along posterior margin of nostril; two square internasals in wide, medial contact, and in contact with two large, square prefrontals posteriorly; followed by a single, azygous, subpentagonal frontal, nearly as wide as long; two large, elongate parietals, contacted laterally by upper anterior and posterior temporals and a larger paraparietal; 1/1 wide, elongate supraocular; 1/1 small preocular, contacting third supralabial; 2/2 postoculars, upper slightly larger than lower; 1/1 elongate loreal not contacting eye, in contact with second and third supralabials ventrally, the prefrontal dorsally, preocular posteriorly, the nasal anteriorly; 8/8 supralabials, second to sixth higher than wide; first and second supralabials in contact with nasal; third, fourth, and fifth, supralabials contacting eye; sixth and seventh supralabials largest; two elongate anterior temporals, lower temporal largest; three square posterior temporals of similar size; 10/10 infralabials; first pair of infralabials contact medially forming a deep, medial groove; first five infralabials in contact with first pair of chinshields; similarly sized anterior and posterior pair of elongate chinshields, bearing deep, medial grooves contiguous with groove separating first pair of infralabials; 12 maxillary teeth.
Body elongate, somewhat laterally compressed; SVL 790 mm; TaL 190 mm; ToL 980 mm. 225 ventrals, 87 paired, subcaudals; cloacal shield divided; dorsal scales in 18-17-15 rows with three keeled vertebral rows; vertebral scale row not enlarged; no apical pits.
Coloration in life
(Figs 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 ). Dorsal ground color of head, body and tail dark-brown to nearly uniformly black; body bearing 13 wide orangish body bands extending to ventral scales, seven wide orangish caudal bands incompletely encircling tail; anterior half of venter orangish with dark-brown mottling grading into a uniform dark-brown venter and subcaudal region.
Variation
(Figs 4 View Figure 4 - 6 View Figure 6 ; Table 3 View Table 3 ). The paratype SIEZC 20248 resembles the holotype in overall color patter except the dorsal and caudal bands are white and the head plates are edged in white. Presumably the 12 dorsal and five caudal bands become orangish and the head will become unicolor dark-brown/black with increasing SVL. The paratype lacks keeled vertebral scales which also may become keeled with increasing SVL. Meristic differences are listed in Table 3 View Table 3 .
Etymology.
The specific epithet " Lycodon anakradaya " is given in a reference to the Ede people (" Anak Radaya " in Ede language), an Austronesian ethnic group living in the upland forested areas of southern Vietnam including those that surround the Song Giang River valley.
Natural history
(Fig. 7 View Figure 7 ). The holotype was observed between 18:30-22:30 h swimming across a small, clear stream with a sandy bottom in an effort to escape detection. Once crossing the stream, it climbed up a steep river bank. The stream is at 600 m elevation and bordered by moss-covered granite boulders less than 4 m wide beneath a canopy of broad-leaved evergreen forest. The stream supports many small fishes ( Poropuntius cf. deauratus , Channa cf. gachua , Schistura sp.) and various species of amphibians ( Hylarana sp., Odorrana sp.). The juvenile paratype of L. anakradaya sp. nov. was found on a branch 30 cm above the surface of the water approximately 1 km upstream from the type locality.
Comparisons
(Table 2 View Table 2 ). Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov. could not be separated statistically from other species of the L. rufozonatus complex because of its small sample size (n=2). Therefore, the comparisons below are based on discrete differences some of which are color pattern characters tradionally used to separate species (Jansen et al. (2019), Luu et al. (2018, 2019), Wang et al. (2020, 2021), and Song (2021). Differences between Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov. and L. truongi sp. nov. are discussed above. Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov. differs from all other species of the L. rufozonatus complex by having 12 or 13 light-colored dorsal bands as opposed to 19-115 collectively in the remaining species. It differs further from all other species in that the body bands are orangish as opposed to white, reddish, yellow, or light-rose in adults. Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov. differs from L. chapaensis and L. septentrionalis in the third, fourth, and fifth supralabials contacting the eye as opposed to the fourth and fifth in the former and second or third in the latter. Having 5-7 light-colored caudal bands also separates it from all other species which collectively have 13-35 caudal bands. Lycodon anakradaya sp. nov. differs from L. cathaya by have 12 maxillary teeth as opposed to 10 and from L. septentrionalis which has eight. The divided cloacal shield differentiates L. anakradaya sp. nov. from L. banksi . L. cathaya , L. chapaensis , L. rufozonatus , and L. septentrionalis . Having keeled dorsal scales as adults differentiates it from L. cathaya and L. futsingensis . It is further separated from L. meridionalis by having 223-232 ventral scales versus 199-212 in L. cathaya , L. futsingensis , and L. septentrionalis and from L. banksi with 241ventral scales. Its uniform black head pattern differentiates it from L. futsingensis , L. flavozonatus , L. meridionalis , and L. rufozonatus . It is separated from L. banksi , L. cathaya , L. flavozonatus , L. meridonalis , and L. rufozonatus by having the ventral portion of the orangish body bands forming the pattern on the ventrolateral side of the body as opposed to a light-colored reticulum. It differs from L. banksi by not having an orangish brown or uniform grey-colored venter. It differs further from L. cathaya and L. futsingnesis by not having a wide light-colored nuchal-occipital collar. Having wide light-colored body bands separates L. anakradaya sp. nov. from L. banksi , L. cathaya , L. chapaensis , L. flavozonatus , L. meridonalis , and L. rufozonatus and L. septentrionalis which have narrow body bands.
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