Hebius malnatei LI, NGUYEN, HUANG, IDIIATULLINA, LE POYARKOV, DAVID, HAN, WU, LI & REN, 2026
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Hebius malnatei
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Malnate’s Keelback |
| Synonym | Hebius malnatei LI, NGUYEN, HUANG, IDIIATULLINA, LE POYARKOV, DAVID, HAN, WU, LI & REN 2026 |
| Distribution | China (Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, elevations 1,750–1,950 m) Type locality: Pugu Village, Panzhou County, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province, China (26.0564°N, 104.7504°E; elevation 1,750 m a.s.l.). |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: CIB 122551, adult female, collected on 12 May 2024, collected by locals. Paratypes: (n = 5, all from China). CIB 122558 (subadult female) from Panlong District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province (25.1430°N, 102.7486°E); CIB 122557 (adult male), CIB 101974 (adult male), CIB 122552 (adult female) from Mengzi City, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province; and CIB 122550 (adult female) from Pugu Village, Panzhou County, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. Hebius malnatei sp. nov. is distinguished from all congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) small body size, maximum snout-vent length 416 mm; (2) head small, narrow, and moderately distinct from neck; (3) maxillary teeth 26–29, gradually enlarged posteriorly; (4) supralabials 6 (rarely 5), with the 3rd and 4th entering the orbit; (5) temporal scale absent or represented by a small narrow scale; (6) infralabials 7 (rarely 6); (7) dorsal scale rows 17-17-17, weakly keeled except for the outermost 1–6 rows; (8) ventrals 146–156 with two preventrals; (9) subcaudals 60–70, paired; (10) ventral surface of head white, scattered with black spots or streaks; (11) sutures of infralabials strongly edged in black; (12) a white to orangish nuchal collar absent; (13) dorsal ground color gradually changing from brown to dark olive, usually with a series of discontinuous light spots along the lateral side, forming an inconspicuous stripe; (14) tail relatively short (TaL/SVL ratio 0.22–0.27). (Li et al. 2026) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. However, these details, e.g. detailed descriptions (about less than half a page) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us if you need any of this material. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet malnatei is a patronym in genitive declension honoring Edmond V. Malnate (1916–2003), an American herpetologist who made significant contributions to the taxonomy and systematics of Asian colubrid snakes, especially within Natricidae, and who first revised the taxonomic placement of Hebius atemporalis. |
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