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Type: Monograph
Published: 2021-01-19
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A revision of the dark-bellied, stream-dwelling snakes of the genus Hebius (Reptilia: Squamata: Natricidae) with the description of a new species from China, Vietnam and Thailand

Reptiles & Amphibiens, UMR 7205 OSEB, Département évolution et Systématique, CP 30, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. 57 rue Cuvier, F-75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Society for Southeast Asian Herpetology, Im Sand 3, D-69115 Heidelberg, Germany.
Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Graduate University of Science and Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Road, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Laboratory of Herpetology, Zoological Institute, Academy of Sciences, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.
Département des Vertébrés Récents, Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
Société d’Histoire Naturelle Alcide d’Orbigny, 57 rue de Gergovie, F-63170 Aubière, France.
AG Zoologischer Garten Köln, Riehler Str. 173, D-50735 Köln, Germany.
Reptilia Keelback snakes taxonomic revision new species Hebius venningi

Abstract

Species of the genus Hebius Thompson, 1913 with 17 or 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody and an overall dark venter are reviewed, including the two species previously known as Parahelicops annamensis Bourret, 1934 and Pararhabdophis chapaensis Bourret, 1934. Specimens with 17 scale rows are morphologically similar to Hebius venningi (Wall, 1910), which is here redefined based on external morphological characters such as scalation, and dorsal and ventral patterns. Consequently, Natrix nigriventer Wall, 1925 is resurrected from its synonymy with Hebius venningi, whereas Natrix taronensis Smith, 1940, previously considered a subspecies of H. venningi or a full species by some authors but without justification, is here confirmed to full species status. Another group of species, mostly similar in coloration and pattern to the H. venningi group but with 19 dorsal scale rows, includes H. modestus (Günther, 1875), H. deschauenseei (Taylor, 1934) and a new species which is described herein based on specimens from northern Vietnam, southern China and north-eastern Thailand due to distinct morphological differences. We also provide updated taxonomic accounts for the species of this group, including an identification key and distribution maps.

 

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