Proahaetulla antiqua MALLIK, ACHYUTHAN, GANESH, PAL, VIJAYAKUMAR & SHANKER, 2019
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Proahaetulla antiqua
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Ahaetuliinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Proahaetulla antiqua MALLIK, ACHYUTHAN, GANESH, PAL, VIJAYAKUMAR & SHANKER 2019 |
| Distribution | India (Tamil Nadu) Type locality: near Agasthiyar peak (8 ̊37’09’’N 77 ̊14’57’’E), Agasthyamalai hills, Kalakad Mundanthurai tiger reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: CES 259 (given as CESS); adult male; Coll. Saunak Pal and S. P. Vijayakumar, 28th August 2011. Paratype: CESS318; adult male; Pandimotta (8 ̊49’35’’N 77 ̊13’02’’E), Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Thenmala, Kerala, India; Coll. S.R. Chandramouli and K. P. Dinesh, July 2012. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Morphologically, Proahaetulla is characterized by the presence of horizontally elliptical pupil; concave loreal region, enabling a near-binocular vision; snout produced forward to a fine point; and bright-green dorsum. Proahaetulla gen. nov. differs from Ahaetulla (A. anomala, A. nasuta, A. dispar, A. pulverulenta, A. mycterizans, A. fasciolata, A. fronticincta & A. prasina) in showing the following combination of morphological characters: 12–13 rows of mildly serrated, keeled dorsal scales starting from the nape till the dorsal scales that are situated in the row adjacent to the cloacal plate; strongest keels on the mid vertebral row (7th or 8th row) of scales; keels consecutively weaker in the paravertebral row of scales (dorsal scales smooth in most Ahaetulla, partly keeled near sacral region in A. perroteti); a set of 20 maxillary teeth (12–16 in Ahaetulla) and post-ocular scales 2–3 (2 in Ahaetulla); greenish yellow tongue with black speckles (vs. reddish, purplish or brownish tongue in Ahaetulla spp.). Proahaetulla gen. nov. differs from all the known genera in Ahaetuliinae as follows:pupil horizontally elliptical (vs. rounded in Dendrelaphis, Chrysopelea); snout tip pointed (vs. rounded in Dendrelaphis, Chrysopelea); dorsum verdant green (vs. never totally green in Dendrelaphis, Chrysopelea, Dryophiops); dorsal scales keeled (vs. smooth in Dendrelaphis, Dryophiops, Ahaetulla); vertebral scales not enlarged (vs. enlarged in Dendrelaphis); dorsal body scales without apical pits (vs. with apical pits in Dendrelaphis, Chrysopelea, Dryophiops); maxillary teeth 20 (vs. < 16 in Ahaetulla; > 22 in Dendrelaphis, Chrysopelea); mid body scale rows 13–15 (vs. not less than 15 in Dryophiops, Ahaetulla; 17 in Chrysopelea) (Table 3 in Mallik et al. 2019: 10). |
| Comment | Type species: Proahaetulla antiqua is the type species of the genus Proahaetulla MALLIK, ACHYUTHAN, GANESH, PAL, VIJAYAKUMAR & SHANKER 2019. |
| Etymology | The specific epithet antiqua is Latin for ‘antique’ or old, a term alluding to the evolutionary age or antiquity of this new taxon. |
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