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Oligodon russelius (DAUDIN, 1803)

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymColuber russelius DAUDIN 1803 (fide SMITH 1943)
Coronella Russelii — SCHLEGEL 1837: 79 (fide DUMÉRIL et al. 1854)
Simotes Russelii— DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 628
Simotes Russelii — JAN 1865
Simotes arnensis — BOULENGER 1890 (partim)
Oligodon arnensis — WALL 1921 (partim)
Oligodon arnensis — SMITH 1943 (partim)
Oligodon russelius — BANDARA et al. 2022: 62 
DistributionNepal, N India, NE Pakistan

Type locality: Vizagapatam (now Visakhapatnam; 17°41’12.54’’N, 83°13’06.53’’E, datum = WGS84; 169 m a.s.l.), Andhra Pradesh, India.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: iconotype: Plate 35 in Russell (1796), reproduced in Bandara et al. 2022: 56 (Fig. 3B), designated by Bandara et al. 2022. A juvenile specimen of 171.4 mm SVL (probably a female due to high ventral count, 188 [fide Russell 1796:41]). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Oligodon russelius comb. nov. is distributed in central, east and northern India, and is distinguished from other congeners by having the following combination of characters: adults reach maximum SVL 650 mm, a single preocular, two postoculars, a single loreal, divided cloacal plate, completely divided nasal, ventrals 169–180 in males and 183–207 in females, subcaudals 46–54 in both males and females combined, temporals 1 þ 2, seven supralabials with third and fourth in contact with eye, DSRs 17-17-15, TL 17.0–18.9% of total length in males, olive brownish dorsum with 30–45 more or less equal in size, pale-edged black cross stripes (with thickness of 1–2 vertebral scales and 4–6 scales in between cross stripes at midbody position) along the body and 6–10 on the tail, two V-shaped black markings on interorbital and parietal–frontal regions, another inverted Y-shaped black marking on the nape. Oligodon russelius comb. nov. is most similar to O. arnensis and the new species, but differs by having several diagnostic characters—see Table 1. Oligodon russelius comb. nov. is also similar to O. churahensis, but differs by having 30–45 (vs. 48–56) cross stripes with 4–6 (vs. 2–4) vertebral scales in-between cross stripes at midbody position along the body and 6–10 (vs. 10– 12) on the tail, inverted Y-shaped black marking (vs. elongated heart symbol) on the nape. (Bandara et al. 2022: 62)


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CommentSynonymy: this species was called Oligodon arnensis during most of its history.

Distribution: see map in Bandara et al. 2022: 65 (Fig. 10), Lee et al. 2023: 5 (Fig. 1) 
EtymologyNamed after Patrick Russell, a British medical doctor (see B 
References
  • Bandara, Sanjaya K.; S.R. Ganesh, A. Suneth Kanishka, A. Dineth Danushka, Vivek R. Sharma, Patrick D. Campbell, Ivan Ineich, Gernot Vogel & A.A. Thasun Amarasinghe 2022. Taxonomic Composition of the Oligodon arnensis (Shaw 1802) Species Complex (Squamata: Colubridae) with the Description of a New Species from India Herpetologica Mar 2022 Vol. 78, No. 1: 51-73 - get paper here
  • Bauer, Aaron M. 2015. Patrick Russell's snakes and their role as type specimens. Hamadryad 37 (1-2): 18-65 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. - get paper here
  • Daudin, F. M. 1803. Histoire Naturelle Generale et Particuliere des Reptiles. Vol. 6. F. Dufart, Paris, 447 pp. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M.C., G. BIBRON & A.H.A. DUMÉRIL 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1). Paris, xvi + 780 S. - get paper here
  • Jan, G. 1865. Iconographie générale des ophidiens. 11. Livraison. J.B. Bailière et Fils, Paris - get paper here
  • Lee JL, Yushchenko PV, Milto KD, Rajabizadeh M, Rastegar Pouyani E, Jablonski D, Masroor R, Karunarathna S, Mallik AK, Dsouza P, Orlov N, Nazarov R, Poyarkov NA. 2023. Kukri snakes Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 of the Western Palearctic with the resurrection of Contia transcaspica Nikolsky, 1902 (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). PeerJ 11:e15185 DOI 10.7717/peerj.15185
  • Mehra, G.S., N. Mohanty & S.K. Dutta 2022. Occurrence patterns of herpetofauna in different habitat types of western Terai Arc Landscape, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(5): 21010–21018 - get paper here
  • Schlegel, H. 1837. Essai sur la physionomie des serpens. Partie Descriptive. La Haye (J. Kips, J. HZ. et W. P. van Stockum), 606 S. + xvi - get paper here
  • Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London. 583 pp.
  • Uetz, Peter; Tapil Prakash Rai, Ruma Thapa, Barbara Lester & Paul Freed 2022. Herpetologische Reise nach Nepal. [A Herpetological trip to Nepal] Sauria 44 (4): 3-31 - get paper here
  • Wall, FRANK 1921. Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon. Colombo Mus. (H. R. Cottle, govt. printer), Colombo. xxii, 581 pages - get paper here
 
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