Oligodon nagao DAVID, NGUYEN, NGUYEN, JIANG, CHEN, TEYNIÉ & ZIEGLER, 2012
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Oligodon nagao?
Oligodon nagao
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | Chinese: 方斑小头蛇 (Fang Ban Xiao Tou She) E: Nagao Kukri Snake Vietnamese: Rắn khiếm na-gao |
| Synonym | Oligodon nagao DAVID, NGUYEN, NGUYEN, JIANG, CHEN, TEYNIÉ & ZIEGLER 2012 Oligodon nagao — WALLACH et al. 2014: 500 Oligodon nagao — DAVID et al. 2022 |
| Distribution | N Vietnam (Cao Bang, Ninh Binh), Laos (Khammouane), SW China (Guangxi) Type locality: Huu Lien forest, Huu Lung District, Lang Son Province, Vietnam, at elevation of about 300 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: VNMN A.2012.1, adult male; collected by Tao Thien Nguyen on 30 June 2009. Paratypes. Four specimens, all adult males: MNHN-RA 2012.0216, from Huu Lien forest, Huu Lung District, Lang Son Province, Vietnam, at elevation of about 300 m a.s.l.; collected by Tao Thien Nguyen, 2 July 2009.—IEBR A.2012.6, from Duc Quang Commune, Ha Lang District, Cao Bang Province, Vietnam; collected by Truong Quang Nguyen et al., 14 October 2011 (22o42.859’N, 106o39.853’E, elevation 476 m).—KIZ 014591, from Nonggang National Nature Reserve, Longzhou County, Guangxi Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China; collected by Tianbo Chen, October, 2011.—ZFMK 93281, from Ban Nathan, Hin Boun District, Khammouane Province, Laos PDR (17o58.854’N, 104o49.517’E, elevation 172 m); collected by Alexandre Teynié et al., 17 May 2012, during the mission “Opération Canopée, Inventaire de la Biodiversité Forestière du Laos 2012-2015”. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A large species (TL up to at least 786 mm) of the genus Oligodon characterized by the combination of (1) 9 or 10 maxillary teeth, the last three or four strongly enlarged, (2) hemipenes not forked but divided into two lobes, thick and bulbous, reaching in situ the 16th SC, smooth, each lobe with a papilla, (3) 17–17–15 (or 17–15–15 DSR in one specimen); (4) cloacal plate entire, (5) complete complement of head scales, including 1 loreal on each side, (6) 8 supralabials (7 in one specimen), fourth and fifth (third and fourth in one specimen) entering orbit, (7) 184–193 ventrals in five males (females unknown), (8) tail relatively short in males (ratio TaL/TL: 0.135–0.146), (9) dorsal pattern made of a dark background colour with 27–37 darker, pale centered, butterfly-shaped blotches on the body and 5–8 on the tail, and (10) venter cream, heavily marked with dark pigmentation. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after the Nagao Natural Environment Foundation, Japan, for the support of natural sciences research and conservation in developing countries in Asia. |
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