Xenochrophis bellulus (STOLICZKA, 1871)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Xenochrophis bellulus?
Xenochrophis bellulus
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Burmese White-barred Keelback |
| Synonym | Tropidonotus bellulus STOLICZKA 1871: 191 Tropidonotus bellulus STOLICZKA 1871: 432 Tropidonotus bellulus — BOULENGER 1890 Tropidonotus trianguligerus — BOULENGER 1893: 224 (in part) Natrix bellula — SMITH 1943: 298 Sinonatrix bellula — ROSSMAN & EBERLE 1977 Xenochrophis bellula — MALNATE & UNDERWOOD 1988: 195 Sinonatrix bellula — MCDOWELL & JENNER 1988 Sinonatrix bellula — RAO & YANG 1998 Xenochrophis bellulus — PAUWELS et al. 2001 Xenochrophis bellula — WALLACH et al. 2014: 797 Xenochrophis bellulus — LEE et al. 2018 |
| Distribution | Myanmar (= Burma) Type locality: ‘‘Prome, near Pegu’’ (now Pyay, Bago Region, Myanmar). Neotyp[e locality: Moyingyi Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary, Bago Region, Myanmar (17°35’27.4’’ N, 96°34’24.5’’ E; 3 m. in elevation). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Neotype: USNM 587200, Adult female, designated by Leet al. 2018, collected on Jul 2003 by Sai Wunna Kyi and Thet Win. Original holotype: Lost, according to Smith (1943). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Including data from Stoliczka (1871) and Smith (1943). Xenochrophis bellulus is separated from all other Southeast Asian natricine snakes by the following set of characteristics: (1) dark olive-brown to jet black dorsal coloration with anterior transverse bars dissipating around midbody; (2) supralabials and infralabials light cream with black sutures; (3) a single light dot on each parietal scale and one occipital scale bordering the parietals; (4) nine (rarely 10) supralabials, with the 4th–6th in contact with the eye; (5) dorsal scales keeled, 19–19–17 rows; (6) 135–144 unkeeled ventrals; (7) 63–83 unkeeled paired subcaudals; (8) single anterior temporal scale; (9) tail length 27.0%–30.0% of the total length; (10) bilobed hemipenis with large basal hooks, elongate spines on the tip of each lobe and a shallowly forked sulcus spermaticus; and (11) short, slender asymmetrical hemipenial lobes slightly separated from the rest of the hemipenial body, with the left lobe shorter and smaller in size compared to the right lobe [Lee et al. 2018]. Additional details (1113 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Synonymy: MALNATE & UNDERWOOD 1988 placed Tropidonotus bellulus in the genus Xenochrophis but noted that this assignment was made “with some insecurity”. Boulenger (1893) synonymized this species with Tropidonotus trianguligerus F. Boie, 1827 (= Xenochrophis trianguligerus) with some reservations (i.e. with a question mark). |
| Etymology | ‘bellulus’’ is a diminutive of the word ‘‘bellus’’ which roughly means ‘‘pretty little one’’ or ‘‘beauty’’ in Latin. |
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