A new reed snake of the genus Calamaria Boie, 1827, Calamaria andersoni, new species, is described on the basis of a single male specimen collected from Yingjiang County, Yunnan Province, China. The new species can be distinguished from other congeners by the unique combination of the following morphological characters: nine modified maxillary teeth; four supralabials, second and third supralabials entering orbit; one preocular; mental not touching anterior chin shields; six shields and scales surrounding the paraparietal; dorsal scales in 13:13:13 rows; 171 ventral scales; 23 subcaudals; tail slowly tapering anteriorly, then abruptly tapering at tip; dorsal scales reduced to four rows on tail at last two subcaudals; dorsum of body and tail brownish with indistinct narrow black stripes on sides; dark collar on neck absent; light rings/blotches on neck and tail absent; and ventral scales with dark outermost corners. Calamaria andersoni, new species, is the fourth species of the genus recorded from China.
How to translate text using browser tools
10 September 2018
A New Species of the Genus Calamaria (Squamata: Colubridae) from Yunnan Province, China
Jian-Huan Yang,
Xi Zheng
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE