Dendrelaphis roseni KRAUS, 2025
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Dendrelaphis roseni
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Ahaetuliinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Dendrelaphis roseni KRAUS 2025: 459 Dendrelaphis papuensis — MCDOWELL 1984 |
| Distribution | Papua New Guinea (Milne Bay Province: Woodlark Island) Type locality: Kulumadau, 9.08° S, 152.72° E, 100 m a.s.l. Woodlark Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. BPBM 39678 (field number FK 14930), adult female, obtained from villagers by F. Kraus. Paratypes (n = 8). Papua New Guinea: Milne Bay Province: Woodlark Island: Kulumadau (AMNH 76615–18, 76625); Guasopa, 9.16° S, 152.98° E, 5 m a.s.l. (BPBM 17891–92); vicinity of Talpos River, 9.16° S, 152.78° E, 100 m a.s.l. (BPBM 17893). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A moderately sized species of Dendrelaphis (SVL up to 728 mm, tail up to 318 mm; TL/SVL = 0.32–0.33 in five adults with complete tails); eye approximately equal in diameter to eye-naris distance (EY/EN = 0.98–1.22, mean = 1.13); ventrals 179–185 in five males, 184–187 in four females; subcaudals 131–135 in two males, 132–145 in three females; hemipenis without a terminal awn, ornamented proximally with a few whorls of large spines; black bars absent from neck; body brown dorsally and ventrally in juveniles changing to dark gray or black in adults; before turning entirely black, paler anterior vertebral stripe present that is margined in black; supralabials white heavily stained with black throughout; infralabials and chin white heavily suffused with black; anteriormost 2–6 ventrals mostly white, stained with some black; subcaudals black centrally, ventrolateral ridges of subcaudals white. Comparisons with other species. The pale anterior vertebral stripe and the large basal spines on the hemipenes distinguish Dendrelaphis roseni sp. nov. from all other Melanesian members of the genus except D. papuensis. From that species, D. roseni sp. nov. differs in its larger eye (EY/EN = 0.98–1.22, mean = 1.13 vs. 0.92–1.11, mean = 1.01 in D. papuensis); dorsum and venter gray in juveniles changing to black in adults (vs. tan in D. papuensis), thereby encroaching on and reducing contrast with the pale vertebral stripe (vs. stripe distinct throughout life in D. papuensis); absence of a black postocular stripe (vs. present in D. papuensis); labials and chin white stained/ suffused with black (vs. cream or yellow in D. papuensis); and subcaudals black with white ventrolateral ridges (vs. tan in D. papuensis). The ontogenetic melanization of animals such that most adults are dark gray or black distinguishes D. roseni from all other Melanesian species of the genus, all of which are brown or green above and white, yellow or brown below. Dendrelaphis roseni sp. nov. further differs from D. lineolatus and D. striolatus in lacking black bars on the neck; from D. lorentzii in lacking dark speckling on the head, in having more ventrals (179–187 vs. 156–181 in D. lorentzii), and having an eye subequal to or larger in size to the EN distance (vs. eye much smaller than EN distance in D. lorentzii); from D. gastrostictus and D. calligastra in lacking any indication of a dark postocular stripe in most adults, and further from D. gastrostictus in lacking dense black spotting on the venter; from D. keiensis in having fewer ventrals (179–187 vs. 211–213 in D. keiensis) and a longer tail (TL/SVL = 0.32–0.33 vs. 0.29–0.30 in D. keiensis), and from D. calligastra, D. macrops and D. punctulatus in lacking a terminal awn on the hemipenis (vs. present in those species), and the hemipenis having a few whorls of large spines proximally (vs. with numerous tiny spines proximally in those species). Description of holotype: Adult female. Dorsal scale rows 15-13-11, reduction to 13 rows occurs at the level of Ventral 10 and to 11 rows at Ventral 112; all scales smooth. Vertebral scales hexagonal; paravertebral scales elongated, semi-hexagonal; remainder narrowly rhomboidal and oblique to body axis. Rostral half again as wide as high; internasals, frontal, supraoculars, and parietals longer than wide; prefrontals wider than long; lateral extension of parietal contacts upper postocular; nasals divided by large nares, with short dorsal and ventral sutures extending from anterior of naris to internasal and first supralabial, respectively; two loreals on each side, all longer than high; preocular single, higher than long; postoculars two, upper larger; anterior temporals two, upper shorter than lower on right but reverse on left; posterior temporals 4 (R) and 3 (L) (Fig. 5). Supralabials 8, 5th and 6th (R) or 4th and 5th (L) below eye; infralabials 9 (right) and 10 (left), five contact anterior genials. Posterior genials in contact with infralabials 5 and 6, separated along their posterior half by pair of intergenials; single lateral gular separates posterior genials from infralabial 7. Many small tubercles present in the rostral, nasals, internasals, prefrontals, loreals, preoculars, postoculars, temporals, supralabials, mental, infralabials, and genials; absent from the frontal, supraoculars, and parietals. Vertebral scales hexagonal; remaining dorsal scales oblique. Dorsal scales on tail in six rows at level of cloaca, four rows at midtail, and two rows near tip. Ventrals 184; cloacal scale divided; subcaudals 95+; ventrals and subcaudals each with a ventrolateral ridge. Total length 999 mm; snout-vent length 728 mm; tail length 271 mm, tip missing; mass 83.3 g in life. Dorsal ground color in preservative largely black except scales of vertebral row with white spot in each (Fig. 6A), and first and second rows white marked with black to ~ventral 70, with amount of white decreasing and amount of black increasing posteriorly (Fig. 6B); white markings also intrude into the black on scale rows 3–6 from ventral 32 to ~ventral 70. Head black except supralabials, mental, and infralabials white heavily marked with black; genials uniformly white. Throat and anterior ventrals white marked with black, gradually darkening posteriorly, becoming largely black by ventral 75. Ventrolateral ridges of each ventral and subcaudal with white longitudinal line, faintest just anterior to cloaca. Iris black. Variation: One unusual feature of this species is that the number of loreals varies, usually being one, as is seen in all other Dendrelaphis I have examined. But the holotype as well as BPBM 17891 have two loreals on each side, one above the other; and BPBM 17892 has two loreals on the right side and one on the left. Supralabials vary from 8–9 (Table 2), with the fourth and fifth usually entering the eye, though the fifth and sixth do on one side of three specimens. Infralabials are usually nine or ten but are 11 on the right side of BPBM 17893. There is no evidence of sexual dimorphism in subcaudal counts (but only two males and three females had complete tails), though ventrals may be slightly greater in females (184–187) than males (179–185) (Table 2). Additional details (2127 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
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