Lycodon calcarophilus VOGEL, BRAGIN, POYARKOV & NGUYEN, 2025
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Lycodon calcarophilus?
Lycodon calcarophilus
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Limestone Wolf Snake Vietnamese: Rắn khuyết Việt Nam Russian: Karstovyi volkozub (Карстовый волкозуб) |
| Synonym | Lycodon calcarophilus VOGEL, BRAGIN, POYARKOV & NGUYEN 2025 Lycodon fasciatus — ZIEGLER et al. 2004: 34, in part)(nec Ophites fasciatus ANDERSON 1879 Lycodon fasciatus — ZIEGLER et al. 2006: 16, (in part) Lycodon fasciatus — ZIEGLER et al. 2007: 18 (in part) Lycodon fasciatus — VOGEL et al. 2009: 179 (in part) Lycodon fasciatus — NGUYEN et al. 2009: 319, in part) Lycodon fasciatus — LUU et al. 2013: 13 (in part). Lycodon (Lycodon) fasciatus — POYARKOV et al. 2023: 341 (in part) Lycodon fasciatus clade 2—NGUYEN et al. 2025: 5, 7, 36 |
| Distribution | Vietnam (Quang Binh) Type locality: Thuong Hoa Commune, Minh Hoa District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam (17.716°N, 106.003°E; elevation ca. 250 m asl.) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. ZMMU Re-18273 (adult female; field ID NAP–13929) collected by N.A. Poyarkov and A.M. Bragin on 04 August 2022. Paratypes (n = 3). ZFMK 86448–50 (three adult females) from Cha Noi Valley within Phong Nha-Ke Bang NP, Xuan Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam collected by R. Hendrix and T. Ziegler on 15 July 2006. Additional material (n = 2). ZFMK 80665 (juvenile, sex unknown) collected in Phong Nha-Ke Bang NP, Minh Hoa District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam; see detail in Ziegler et al. (2004: 34); SIFASV 110 (subadult male, released) from Son Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, near Phong Nha-Ke Bang NP, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam (ca. 17.601°N, 106.273°E; elevation 200 m asl), observed by P.L. Tran and T.V. Nguyen on 5 March 2024. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. A small-sized species of Lycodon from central Vietnam with a maximum snout-vent length of 505 mm, relative tail length 0.19–0.22, dorsal scale rows 17–17–15, 5–7 upper dorsal scale rows keeled at midbody, ventrals 214–219, subcaudals 83–88, paired, and cloacal plate undivided, supralabials usually eight with third to fifth scales in contact with eye, infralabials ten (rarely nine), the first five in contact with anterior chin shields, preocular 1/1, blocking prefrontals from contacting eye, loreal in narrow contact with eye, postoculars 2/2, temporals 2+3 (rarely 2+2). Dorsum black in life with 19–25 white or slight brownish-grey light body cross-bands and 10–15 tail cross-bands; first light cross-band starting between ventrals 12–15, 10–13 ventral scales long at base and 4–5 vertebral dorsal scales long; in life, head slight dark brown in adults, white spots present across most supralabials, underside of head white, scale sutures of chin and throat with dark brown mottling; venter with discrete light and dark cross-bands, absent small irregular spots prevalent posteriorly. (Vogel et al. 2025) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 13504 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Latin calcar, meaning “limestone”, and -philus, meaning “loving” or “having an affinity for”. The name refers to the species’ apparent preference for limestone habitats. |
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