Song HUANG,Li DING,Frank T. BURBRINK,et al.A New Species of the Genus Elaphe (Squamata: Colubridae) from Zoige County, Sichuan, China[J].Asian Herpetological Research(AHR),2012,3(1):38-45.[doi:10.3724/SP.J.1245.2012.00038]
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A New Species of the Genus Elaphe (Squamata: Colubridae) from Zoige County, Sichuan, China
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Asian Herpetological Research[ISSN:2095-0357/CN:51-1735/Q]

Issue:
2012 VoI.3 No.1
Page:
38-45
Research Field:
Original Article
Publishing date:
2012-03-25

Info

Title:
A New Species of the Genus Elaphe (Squamata: Colubridae) from Zoige County, Sichuan, China
Author(s):
Song HUANG1;  2;  3*;  Li DING4*;  Frank T. BURBRINK5;  6;  Jun YANG7;  Jietang HUANG3;  Chen LING8;  Xin CHEN
1 College of Life and Environment Sciences, Huangshan University, Huangshan 245041, Anhui, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China
3 Huangshan Institute of Ophiology, Huangshan 245000, Anhui, China
4 Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
5 Department of Biology, the College of Staten Island, the City University of New York, 2800 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
6 Department of Biology, the Graduate Center, the City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016- 4309, USA
7 School of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, Sichuan, China
8 College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, Yunnan, China
Keywords:
new species;  mitochondrial DNA;  DNA barcoding;  Zoige ratsnake
PACS:
-
DOI:
10.3724/SP.J.1245.2012.00038
Abstract:
Previous phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data reveal a likely new species of Elaphe Fitzinger from China, which forms the sister group of all extant Elaphe. One of the three original specimens is crushed and the other two are neonates, which precludes a morphological analysis. Three adult snakes (2 females, 1 male) collected from Jiangzha Hot Spring in Zoige County, Sichuan, China on 26 July 2010 now facilitate the species’ description. Mitochondrial DNA nucleotide sequences of cytochrome b (cyt b), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4), 12S ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA), and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) from the adults are identical to sequences from the crashed specimen. Interspecific uncorrected p-distances of partial CO1 gene of 26 sequences from all 11 species of Elaphe, including this new species, are large (8.5–15.2%). This new species is morphologically distinguished from all other species of Elaphe by several characters: “M”-shaped marking on the supraoculars and adjacent frontal; four parallel series of red-brown spots on the dorsum extending from the neck to the vent; four longitudinal stripes associated with the spots; each spot is usually composed of a whole (or incomplete) red-brown scale with puce borders; spots of each stripe are similar in shape, they occur at relatively regular intervals of one or two scales, and they are slightly red-brown in color; and it has three preoculars, whereas all other species have one or two. Now Elaphe contains 11 species and this discovery highlights the need for continued exploration of temperate regions.

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