Elaphe zoigeensis HUANG, DING, BURBRINK, YANG, HUANG, LING, CHEN & ZHANG, 2012

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Higher Taxa	Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Zoige Ratsnake Chinese: Ruoergai Jinshe (Bopomofo)
Synonym	Elaphe zoigeensis HUANG, DING, BURBRINK, YANG, HUANG, LING, CHEN & ZHANG 2012 Elaphe zoigeensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 263
Distribution	China (Sichuan) Type locality: 20 m from the mouth of Jiangzha Hot Spring (3200 m elevation, N 34°12’18’’, E 102°42’48’’) in Zoige County, Sichuan, China.
Reproduction	oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022)
Types	Holotype: HSU (also as HUM) 20110001, adult female captured at 12:00 on 26 July 2010 (Museum of Huangshan University) Paratypes: Captured on gravel by a stream (HUM 20110002, adult female, about 40 m from the mouth of Jiangzha Hot Spring) and in a small soil hole by the same stream (HUM 20110003, adult male, about 30 m from the mouth of Jiangzha Hot Spring), same place and time as the those of the holotype.
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: Elaphe zoigeensis sp. nov. is distinguished from all other species of Elaphe by several sets of characters involving color and scutellation. Color pattern is distinct in having a red brown, “M” shaped marking on the back of the head at the margins of the supraoculars and adjacent posterior frontal and the presence of 4 longitudinal, parallel rows of spots on the dorsum extending from the neck to vent. Each spot usually encompasses an entire scale and is red brown, while the edges of the spot and bordering scales are puce. The spots from each of the parallel rows are similar in size and shape, and rank at a relatively regular interval of one or two scales of slightly red brown color. Additionally, this species has 3 preoculars, rather than 1–2 found in all other species (Schulz, 1996).
Comment
Etymology	The specific name refers to the type locality, Zoige County, Sichuan, China.
References	HUANG, Song; Li DING, Frank T. BURBRINK, , Jun YANG, Jietang HUANG, Chen LING, Xin CHEN, and Yaping ZHANG 2012. A New Species of the Genus Elaphe (Squamata: Colubridae) from Zoige County, Sichuan, China. Asian Herpetological Research 3 (1): 38–45 - get paper here Kwet, Axel 2013. Liste der im Jahr 2012 neu beschriebenen Reptilien. Terraria-Elaphe 2013 (3): 52-67 - get paper here Qi, S., Shi, J. S., Ma, Y. B., Gao, Y. F., Bu, S. H., Grismer, L. L., Li, P.P. & Wang, Y. Y. 2021. A sheep in wolf's clothing: Elaphe xiphodonta sp. nov.(Squamata, Colubridae) and its possible mimicry to Protobothrops jerdonii. ZooKeys 1048: 23-47 - get paper here Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp. Wang, Kai; Jinlong Ren, Hongman Chen, Zhitong Lyu, Xianguang Guo Ke Jiang, Jinmin Chen, Jiatang Li, Peng Guo, Yingyong Wang, Jing Che 2020. The updated checklists of amphibians and reptiles of China. Biodiversity Science 28 (2): 189-218 - get paper here Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information https://www.facebook.com/groups/stshc/posts/309098864648052/ Google images

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