Liophidium maintikibo FRANZEN, JONES, RASELIMANANA, NAGY, D’CRUZE, GLAW & VENCES, 2009

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Higher Taxa	Pseudoxyrhophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names
Synonym	Liophidium maintikibo FRANZEN, JONES, RASELIMANANA, NAGY, D’CRUZE, GLAW & VENCES 2009 Liophidium maintikibo — WALLACH et al. 2014: 386
Distribution	W Madagascar (deciduous forest of Kirindy) Type locality: near Kirindy research station (20◦ 03′ S, 44◦ 39′ E), elevation below 100 m, about 60 km north of Morondava (district of Morondava, region of Menabe, Toliara Province), western Madagascar.
Reproduction	oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022)
Types	Holotype: ZSM 2052/2007, collected by Julia Jones on 20 November 2004.
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: Liophidium maintikibo sp. n. differs from the only Comoran species L. mayottensis by 17 rows of dorsal scales (vs. 19) and from the Malagasy species (which all share 17 rows of dorsal scales) as follows: from L. apperti, L. chabaudi, L. rhodogaster, L. torquatum and L. trilineatum by the lack of a loreal scale and the presence of only seven upper labials, with upper labials 3 + 4 touching the eye (vs. 8 upper labials, 4 +5 touching the eye). Moreover, it differs from the above mentioned species (except L. rhodogaster) by a higher number of ventral scales and by a different dorsal colouration (5 dorsal stripes vs. 0, 1 or 3 stripes; except L. apperti).
Comment	This species is related to Liophidium therezieni but differs by a lower number of ventral scales and several details of colouration. Its ventral scales have a large central black patch which is missing from the subcaudals. This predominantly black ventral side is similar to that of another enigmatic Malagasy snake, Pararhadinaea melanogaster.
Etymology	The species name is used as a noun in apposition and is composed of the Malagasy adjectiv “mainty”, meaning black, and “kibo”, meaning venter. It refers to the large black central markings on the ventral scales of the new species.
References	Franzen, Michael; Jones, Julia; Raselimanana, Achille P.; Nagy, Zoltán T.; D'Cruze, Neil; Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel, 2009. A new black-bellied snake (Pseudoxyrhophiinae: Liophidium) from western Madagascar, with notes on the genus Pararhadinaea. Amphibia-Reptilia 30 (2): 173-183 - 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. 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 http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/amre/2009/00000030/00000002… https://www.facebook.com/groups/stshc/posts/374170354807569 Google images

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