A new species of the Southeast Asian genus Opisthotropis (Serpentes: Colubridae: Natricinae) from western Hunan, China.

ABSTRACT: A new species of natricine snake of the Southeast Asian genus Opisthotropis Gü nther, 1872 is described from western Hunan Province of China based on both mitochondrial DNA and morphological data. The new species is morphologically most similar and genetically most closely related to O. cheni Zhao, 1999 and O. latouchii (Boulenger, 1899), but possesses considerable genetic divergence (p-distance 5.1%-16.7%) and can be differentiated from all other congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) body size large (total length 514-586 mm) and strongly built; (2) dorsal scale rows 17 throughout, feebly keeled anteriorly and moderately keeled posteriorly; (3) ventral scales 147-152, subcaudal scales 54-62; (4) preocular absent, loreal elonga

SUBMITTER: Ren JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5717426 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature