Gloydius variegatus REN, HUANG, WU, JIANG & LI, 2024
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Gloydius variegatus
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| Higher Taxa | Viperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Gloydius variegatus REN, HUANG, WU, JIANG & LI 2024 |
| Distribution | China (Xizang) Type locality: Karuo Town, Karub District, Qamdo Prefecture, Xizang Autonomous Region, China (31.0399° N, 97.2266° E; 3 324 m a.s.l.). |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: CIB 121711 (field No. LJT-YT2022022), adult female, collected by Junjie HUANG, Jinlong REN, and Wei WU on 13 August 2022. Paratype: CIB 121712 (field No. LJT-YT2022009), adult male, collected by Jinlong REN, Junjie HUANG, and Wei WU at the same collection site (31.0401° N, 97.2262° E; 3299 m a.s.l.) as the holotype on 12 August 2022. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Gloydius variegatus sp. nov. can be differentiated from all congeners based on a combination of the following morphological characteristics: (1) body moderate, total length 484–564 mm; (2) head robust, round, oval in shape; (3) snout blunt, canthus rostralis indistinct; (4) internasal scales rectangular shaped, not truncated anteriorly; (5) dorsal scale rows 21-21-15 or 21-21-17, distinctly keeled throughout except for outermost row; (6) dorsal body scales matte, not glassy, without metallic luster; (7) ventrals 166–167, subcaudals 42–47; (8) pair of distinct blackish brown eye stripes present or barely visible on lateral head; (9) dorsal, lateral head scales inclusive of supralabial scales not spotted; (10) dorsal background coloration ranging from blackish brown or faint yellow; (11) large irregular light brownish black transverse patches or crossbands across dorsal body from neck to tail; (12) ventrolateral lines absent; (13) hemipenis half divided, bilaterally symmetrical, spine area restricted to basal one-third of branch length. (Rren et al. 2024) Comparisons: Gloydius variegatus sp. nov. was recovered as the sister taxon of G. rubromaculatus based on current molecular phylogenetic analysis. However, it can be readily distinguished from G. rubromaculatus by having shorter tail (TaL/TL 12.8–14.4% vs. 16.9–17.1%), lower number of subcaudals (35–43 vs. 42–47), buff to blackish brown eye stripe, lacking dark border, extending from postocular region (vs. black-bordered, yellowish red cheek stripe extending from temporal), unspotted dorsal, ventral, and lateral head scales inclusive of supralabial scales (vs. densely spotted with irregular, uneven-sized black spots) (Tables 5–6; Figure 8), and more restricted spine area on sulcus side of hemipenis (extending to proximal one-third of branch (vs. proximal half of the branch) (Figure 9). Gloydius variegatus sp. nov. is phylogenetically close to G. lipipengi within clade D. However, the new species differs from G. lipipengi by having smaller maximum body size, up to TL 564 mm (vs. 628 mm), 3rd supralabial entering orbit (vs. supralabials not entering orbit), head rounded in dorsal view (vs. triangular-shaped), matte dorsal scale texture (vs. glassy with weak metallic luster), and unspotted labial scales (vs. scattered with irregularly sized black blotches). Geographically, Gloydius variegatus sp. nov. occurs in close proximity to G. huangi, with both species inhabiting the hot dry valley of the upper Lancang River (Figure 1). However, Gloydius variegatus sp. nov. differs from the latter species by having unspotted labial scales (vs. scattered with yellowish brown small spots), W-shaped stripes extending from posterior half of head and to neck (vs. C-shaped pattern on occipital head), large light brown to brownish black transverse patches or crossbands on dorsal surface of the body (vs. olive horn color to solid jet black transverse patches) (Figure 8), and longer hemipenial truncus and a lower degree of bifurcation (HCL/HTL 51% vs. 45%) (Figure 9). Compared with other members of the G. strauchi complex, Gloydius variegatus sp. nov. differs from G. monticola by having 21 rows of dorsal scales at midbody (vs. 19), higher scale counts for supralabials (7 vs. 6), ventrals (166–167 vs. 142–153), and subcaudals (42–47 vs. 29–34), and matte dorsal scale texture (vs. glassy with metallic luster); from G. angusticeps by having head rounded in dorsal view (vs. triangular-shaped), matte dorsal scale texture (vs. glassy with weak metallic luster), and unspotted labial scales (vs. scattered with grayish brown, vaporous spots); from G. strauchi by having larger body size (TL 484–564 mm vs. 302–452 mm), higher ventral count (166–167 vs. 150–159) and higher subcaudal count (42–47 vs. 31–40); from G. swild by having longer tail (TaL/TL 12.8–14.4% vs. 12.3–12.7%), lower ventral count (166–167 vs. 168–170), and a head rounded in dorsal view (vs. triangular-shaped); from G. lateralis, G. qinlingensis, and G. liupanensis by having head rounded in dorsal view (vs. triangular-shaped) and lateral body stripes absent (vs. present). Lastly, Gloydius variegatus sp. nov. differs from G. himalayanus (Günther, 1864 and G. chambensis by having head rounded in dorsal view (vs. triangular-shaped) and inconspicuous canthus rostralis (vs. highly distinct). Based on the recent phylogenetic analysis conducted by Kuttalam et al. (2022), it is recommended that the latter two Himalayan species be excluded from the G. strauchi complex. (Ren et al. 2024) |
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