Ovophis langbianus POYARKOV, IDIIATULLINA, USTINOVA, BRAGIN, LE, PAWANGKHANANT, PHAM, SUWANNAPOOM, DAVID, VOGEL & NGUYEN, 2026
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Ovophis langbianus
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| Higher Taxa | Viperidae, Crotalinae, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Langbian Mountain Pitviper Vietnamese: Rắn lục núi Langbian French: Ovophis de Langbian |
| Synonym | Ovophis langbianus POYARKOV, IDIIATULLINA, USTINOVA, BRAGIN, LE, PAWANGKHANANT, PHAM, SUWANNAPOOM, DAVID, VOGEL & NGUYEN 2026 Ovophis monticola — SMITH (1943: 508 partim) (non Trimeresurus monticola Günther, 1864) Ovophis monticola — CAMPDEN-MAIN (1970: 102, partim) Ovophis monticola — NGUYEN et al. (2009: 419, partim) Ovophis convictus — POYARKOV & VASILIEVA (2011: 192, 214, fig. 5.30, partim) (non Ovophis convictus STOLICZKA, 1870) Ovophis tonkinensis — NGUYEN & POYARKOV (2020: 782, partim) (non Ovophis tonkinensis BOURRET 1934) Ovophis tonkinensis — POYARKOV et al. (2023: 388–389, partim) |
| Distribution | S Vietnam (Lam Dong) Type locality: evergreen montane pine forest within the Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, Lac Duong Commune, Lam Dong Province, southern Vietnam (12.192724°N, 108.677668°E; elevation 1,510 m asl) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. VRTC NAP-18223 (field tag NAP-18223), adult male, collected by A.M. Bragin on 13 July 2025. Paratypes (n = 5, all from Vietnam). • Lam Dong Province: Bidoup-Nui Ba NP: VRTC NAP-18224 (field tag NAP-18224), subadult female, with the same collection information as the holotype; ZMMU Re-13839 (field tag NAP-00478), adult female, collected from high-elevation elfin montane forest on Mt. Bidoup, within the Bidoup-Nui Ba NP, Lac Duong Commune (12.090903°N, 108.662195°E; elevation 2,230 m asl) by N.A. Poyarkov on 09 May 2009; Di Linh Commune: ZMMU Re-18512 (field tag NAP-12888), adult male, collected from secondary montane polydominant forest at Suoi Lanh Stream, Gung Re Village, Di Linh Commune (11.47117°N, 108.07013°E; elevation 1,190 m asl) by N.A. Poyarkov, P. Pawangkhanant, and H.M. Pham on 07 September 2022; and ZMMU Re-18511 (field tag NAP-14633), adult male collected by H.M. Pham on June 17, 2023, from the same locality as ZMMU Re-18512; • Dak Lak Province: Chu Yang Sin NP: ZMMU Re-14068 (field tag NAP-02669), adult male, collected from polydominant mixed evergreen montane forests on the slope of Mt. Chu Pan Fan, within the Chu Yang Sin NP, Bong Krang Commune (12.37557°N, 108.354057°E; elevation 1,730 m asl) by N.A. Poyarkov on 07 April 2012. Referred material (n = 2, all from Vietnam). • Lam Dong Province: Sui Kat area, D’Ran Commune: NHMUK 1921.5.4.11, adult male, collected by Malcolm Smith in 1921. • Khanh Hoa Province: Hon Ba NR: ZMMU Re-15709, subadult female, collected by A.B. Vassilleva on 29 June 2018 (12.11250°N, 108.97889°E; elevation 800 m asl). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Ovophis langbianus sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) TaL/TL ratio 0.14–0.18 in males and 0.12–0.14 in females; (2) internasals usually in contact, rarely separated by one small scale; (3) second supralabial bordering loreal pit; (4) dorsal scale rows 25 (21, 23, 27)–21 (23, 25)–19 (15, 17); (5) ventrals 129–138; (6) dorsal scales strongly keeled; (7) subcaudals 36–44, all single; (8) fourth supralabial larger than third; (9) dorsal surface of head uniformly dark brown to blackish-brown, lacking distinct markings; (10) sides of head heavily mottled with cream and pale orange; (11) a pair of pale dorsolateral neck stripes present; (12) dorsum yellowish-brown to brown, with a series of dark brown to blackish-brown butterfly-shaped, subquadrate, or irregular blotches; (13) tail brown, bearing scattered whitish spots; and (14) venter cream to off-white, densely mottled with dark brown. (Poyarkov et al. 2026) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. However, these details, e.g. detailed descriptions (about about 2.55 pages) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us if you need any of this material. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after the Langbian Plateau, the broader geographic region containing the type locality and the currently known distribution of the new species. |
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