Lycodon sidiki WOSTL, HAMIDY, KURNIAWAN & SMITH, 2017
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Lycodon sidiki
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Lycodon sidiki WOSTL, HAMIDY, KURNIAWAN & SMITH 2017 |
| Distribution | Indonesia (Sumatra: Aceh) Type locality: between Takengon and Isaq, Aceh Province, Sumatra 04.50611 °N, 96.86061 °E, 1614 m asl |
| Reproduction | oviparous. |
| Types | Holotype: MZB Ophi.5980. An adult male; collected at 22:58 on 05 August 2015 by Elijah Wostl, Ilham Fonna and Muhammad Iksan as it was crossing a small rocky creek through a wooded region. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. This species of Lycodon is recognized by the presence of keeled scales, an elongate loreal scale that reaches the orbit, the absence of a preocular scale, an undivided anal scale, and a banded venter. Comparisons. This species is distinguished from all other species of Lycodon on the Sunda Shelf by a unique combination of morphological traits. Lycodon sidiki lacks a preocular scale (present in L. butleri and L. cavernicolus and the non-Sunda species L. gongshan and L. fasciatus), has a loreal scale (absent in L. effraenis), has keeled dorsal scales (dorsal scales smooth in L. capucinus and L. laoensis), has a banded venter (not banded in L. albofuscus and L. subcinctus), and has a single anal plate (divided in L. albofuscus, L. capucinus, and L. subcinctus). The specimen of L. sidiki has fewer ventral scales (195) then is reported for L. cavernicolus (245; Grismer et al. 2014). In L. sidiki scale rows 6–12 are distinctly keeled one head length posterior to the retroarticular process. In L. subcinctus scale rows 8–10 are faintly keeled (if at all) one head length posterior to the retroarticular process. Lycodon sidiki has an elongate loreal scale in contact with the orbit. This configuration is absent in L. capucinus, L. laoensis and the non-Sunda species L. aulicus, L. cardamomensis Daltry and Wuster, L. davidi Vogel, Nguyen, Kingsada and Ziegler, L. meridionale (Bourret), L. kundui Smith, L. ophiophagus Vogel, David, Pauwels, Sumontha, Norval, Hendrix, Vu, and Ziegler, L. paucifasciatus Rendahl in Smith, L. ruhstrati, L. septentrionalis Gunther, L. zawi, and L. zoosvictoriae Neang, Hartman, Hun, Souter, and Fury. There are 17 anterior scale rows in L. sidiki, 19 anterior scale rows in L. rosozonatus Hu and Zhao. |
| Comment | Apparently known only from one adult male, the holotype (Wostl et al. 2017 are not explicit about this but list only one specimen). |
| Etymology | This species is named in honor of Irvan Sidik, Indonesian herpetologist, a colleague, and friend, for his numerous contributions to the herpetology of the Sunda Shelf, and his promotion of scientific collections and the study of snakes. |
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