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Trimerodytes balteatus COPE, 1895

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Hainan Mountain Keelback
Chinese: 横纹环游蛇 
SynonymTrimerodytes balteatus COPE 1895: 426
Opisthotropis balteata POPE 1935
Liparophis Bedoti PERACCA 1904: 664
Opisthotropis multicinctata FAN 1931: 82
Opisthotropis multicincta FAN 1931 (fide ZHAO & ADLER 1993)
Trimerodytes balteatus — MELL 1931 [1929]
Opisthotropis balteatus — SMITH 1943: 331
Opisthotropis balteatus — BROWN & LEVITON 1961
Opisthotropis balteata — ZIEGLER et al. 2008
Opisthotropis balteata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 508
Trimerodytes balteatus — REN et al. 2019: 117
Trimerodytes balteata — FRANCIS 2021 
DistributionN Vietnam, China (Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hong Kong)

Type locality: Hainan Island, China.  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesHolotype: ANSP 11435; MCZ ? 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Trimerodytes balteatus can be diagnosed from other morphologically similar species by a combination of the following characters: (1) body cylindrical, TL 604–1 021 mm; (2) tail relatively moderate, TaL/TL 0.15–0.24; (3) head moderately distinct from neck; (4) nostrils directed dorsolaterally; (5) eyes moderate, EW/ SoL 0.86–1.38; (6) maxillary teeth mostly 16–19, slightly enlarged posteriorly, without diastema; (7) dorsal scale rows 19-19-17; (8) prefrontal single, spindle-shaped; (9) supralabials 9–10, usually 4th or 5th entering orbit; (10) ventrals 187–205; (11) dorsal scales smooth anteriorly, smooth or feebly keeled at midbody, tending to be moderately keeled rear body and on tail, outer most three or four dorsal scale rows along both sides of body smooth entirely before cloaca; (12) body brownish-red or brownish-yellow, encircled by 32–54 black bands with yellow centers, 13–28 present on tail; (13) venter yellowish-beige, with annulated or alternating black bands (Figures 2A, 3D, 4, 5A–B; Tables 3–4 in Ren et al. 2019).


Additional details (2004 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentHabitat: aquatic, inhabiting flowing streams.

Synonymy: partly after Zhao & Adler 1993.

Diet: fishes, frogs, tadpoles, freshwater shrimp and earthworms.

Behavior: nocturnal

Type species: Trimerodytes balteatus COPE 1895: 426 is the type species of the genus Trimerodytes COPE 1895. Trimerodytes was resurrected from the synonymy of Opisthotropis as a senior synonym of Sinonatrix (which was synonymized with Trimerodytes by Ren et al. 2019).

Comparisons (genera): Ren et al. 2019: 121 (Table 6) provide a morphological comparison of natricine genera (Opisthotropis, Paratapinophis, Isanophis, Trimerodytes balteatus, Hebius annamensis, Trachischium fuscum/guentheri, Rhabdops bicolor, Atretium yunnanensis, Pseudagkistrodon rudis multiprefrontalis).

Distribution: not in Cambodia fide Ren et al. 2019. 
References
  • Brown,W.C. & Leviton,A.E. 1961. Discovery of the snake genus Opisthotropis in the Philippine Islands, with description of a new species. Occasional Papers of the Natural History Museum of Stanford University (8): 1-11 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1895. On a collection of Batrachia and Reptilia from the Island of Hainan. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia XLVI [1894]: 423-428 - get paper here
  • DAVID, PATRICK; CUONG THE PHAM, TRUONG QUANG NGUYEN & THOMAS ZIEGLER 2011. A new species of the genus Opisthotropis Günther, 1872 (Squamata: Natricidae) from the highlands of Kon Tum Province, Vietnam. Zootaxa 2758: 43–56 - get paper here
  • Fan, TSANG-HOW. 1931. Preliminary report of reptiles from Yashan, Kwangsi, China. Bull. Dept. Biol. Coll. Sci. Sun Yatsen Univ., Canton, 11 (4): 1-154 - get paper here
  • Francis, A. 2021. A field guide to the snakes of Hong Kong. Regal Printing, Hong Kong - get paper here
  • GAO, ZHIWEI; TIANYU QIAN, JIANPING JIANG, DEJIA HOU, XUEJIAN DENG & DAODE YANG. 2022. Species diversity and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Hunan Province, China. Biodiversity Science 30 (2): 21290, 1–15 - get paper here
  • LI, Cao, LIU, Qin and GUO, Peng 2010. Expanded Description of a Chinese Endemic Snake Opisthotropis cheni (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae). Asian Herpetological Research 1 (1): 57-60 - get paper here
  • Mell,R. 1931. List of Chinese snakes. Lingnan Sci. Jour., Canton, 8 [1929]: 199-219.
  • Nguyen, S.V., Ho, C.T. and Nguyen, T.Q. 2009. Herpetofauna of Vietnam. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 768 pp.
  • Peracca, M. G. 1904. Nouvelles espèces d’Ophidiens d’Asie et d’Amerique, faisant partie de la collection du Museum d’histoire naturelle de Genève. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 12: 663-668 - get paper here
  • Pope, CLIFFORD H. 1935. The Reptiles of China. Turtes, Crocodilians, Snakes, Lizards. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., New York, Nat. Hist. Central Asia, 10: lii, 1-604 - get paper here
  • REN, Jinlong; Kai WANG, Peng GUO, Yingyong WANG, Tao Thien NGUYEN, and Jiatang LI 2019. On the Generic Taxonomy of Opisthotropis balteata (Cope, 1895) (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae): Taxonomic Revision of Two Natricine Genera. Asian Herpetological Research 10 (2): 105–128; DOI: 10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.180091 - get paper here
  • Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London. 583 pp.
  • Steindachner, F. 1906. Bemerkungen zu Liparophis bedoti Perr. und Lachesis monticola (Gthr.). Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien , math.-natur-wiss. Kl. 115: 905—909 - get paper here
  • TEYNIÉ, ALEXANDRE; ANNE LOTTIER, PATRICK DAVID, TRUONG QUANG NGUYEN & GERNOT VOGEL 2014. A new species of the genus Opisthotropis Günther, 1872 from northern Laos (Squamata: Natricidae). Zootaxa 3774 (2): 165–182 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Wang, Kai; Jinlong Ren, Hongman Chen, Zhitong Lyu, Xianguang Guo Ke Jiang, Jinmin Chen, Jiatang Li, Peng Guo, Yingyong Wang, Jing Che 2020. The updated checklists of amphibians and reptiles of China. Biodiversity Science 28 (2): 189-218 - get paper here
  • YANG, JIAN-HUAN; YIK-HEI SUNG & BOSCO PUI-LOK CHAN 2013. A new species of the genus Opisthotropis Günther, 1872 (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) from Guangdong Province, China. Zootaxa 3646 (3): 289–296 - get paper here
  • YANG, JIAN-HUAN; YING-YONG WANG, BING ZHANG, MICHAEL WAI-NENG LAU & WEN-HAO CHOU 2011. Revision of the diagnostic characters of Opisthotropis maculosa Stuart and Chuaynkern, 2007 with notes on its distribution and variation, and a key to the genus Opisthotropis (Squamata: Natricidae). Zootaxa 2785: 61–68 - get paper here
  • Zhao, E.M. 2006. The snakes of China [in Chinese]. Hefei, China, Anhui Sience & Technology Publ. House, Vol. I, 372 pp., Vol. II (color plates), 280 pp.
  • Zhao,E. & Adler,K. 1993. Herpetology of China. SSAR, Oxford/Ohio, 1-522
  • Ziegler, Thomas; Patrick David, Vu Ngoc Thanh 2008. A new natricine snake of the genus Opisthotropis from Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam (Squamata, Colubridae). Zoosystematics and Evolution 84 (2): 197 -203 - get paper here
 
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