A New Species of the Genus Calamaria (Squamata: Colubridae) from Yunnan Province, China
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.
Bayesian inference (BI) tree derived from partial sequences of the combined fragments of 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and cyt-b genes. Numbers at nodes are Bayesian posterior probabilities followed by bootstrap support values for maximum likelihood analyses.
Holotype of Calamaria andersoni, new species, in preservative: (A) dorsal view of head; (B) ventral view of head; (C) dorsolateral view of right side of head; (D) dorsolateral view of left side of head; (E) dorsolateral view of mid-body; (F) lateral view of tail; (G) ventral view of tail; (H) dorsal view of tail. Photographs by Jian-Huan Yang.
Holotype of Calamaria andersoni, new species, in life: (A) dorsal view; (B) lateral view; (C) lateral view of right side of head. Photographs by Jian-Huan Yang.
Calamaria yunnanensis from Jingdong County, Yunnan Province, China (type locality). Insert photo depicts the head scalation (absence of preocular). Photographs by Chung-Wei You.
Map of western part of Yunnan Province, China showing the type locality (dark star) of Calamaria andersoni, new species.
Contributor Notes
Associate Editor: B. Stuart.