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Issue: Vol. 5849 No. 2: 13 Jul. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-07-13
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5849.2.5
Page range: 213-226
Abstract views: 1032
PDF downloaded: 27

A new genus and species of Dipsadidae (Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes) from Guangdong and Hunan Provinces in Southern China

Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection; Guangxi Normal University; Ministry of Education; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology; Guangxi Normal University; College of Life Sciences; Guangxi Normal University; Guilin 541006; Guangxi; China
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization; Institute of Zoology; Guangdong Academy of Sciences; Guangzhou 510260; Guangdong; China
Guangzhou Meizhi Advertising Co.; Ltd.; Guangzhou 510700; Guangdong; China
Administration of Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve; Shaoguan 512727; Guangdong; China
Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen); New Territories; Hongkong; China
Society for Southeast Asian Herpetology; D-69115 Heidelberg; Germany
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization; Institute of Zoology; Guangdong Academy of Sciences; Guangzhou 510260; Guangdong; China
Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection; Guangxi Normal University; Ministry of Education; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology; Guangxi Normal University; College of Life Sciences; Guangxi Normal University; Guilin 541006; Guangxi; China
Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection; Guangxi Normal University; Ministry of Education; Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology; Guangxi Normal University; College of Life Sciences; Guangxi Normal University; Guilin 541006; Guangxi; China
Reptilia Dipsadidae morphology molecular phylogeny taxonomy Nanlingophis nvwa gen. et. sp. nov

Abstract

Nanlingophis nvwa gen. et. sp. nov., a new genus and species of the family Dipsadidae, has been identified based on a specimen collected from Tianjingshan National Forest Park in Guangdong Province, southern China. Nanlingophis is assigned to Dipsadidae based on its phylogenetic placement, currently monotypic and it is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: body slender; tail long, TaL/TL 0.314; dorsal scales smooth, rhomboid and juxtaposed, in 13 rows throughout the body; ventrals 163; anal shield divided; subcaudals paired, 110+1 pairs; supralabials 5/5, with the 3rd and 4th entering the orbit; infralabials 5/5; suboculars absent; loreal single and crescent-shaped; temporals 1+1+2; rostral not dorsally recurved; anterior nasal plates not expanded; dorsum yellowish brown, each scale edged dark brown to blackish and forming a reticulate pattern. This combination of characters distinguishes the new genus from all superficially similar genera, especially Stichophanes, Thermophis, Dipsas, Pareas and Aplopeltura.

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How to Cite

Chen, H.-L., Zhang, L., Liu, G.-X., Liu, Z.-F., Kwok, C.-T., Vogel, G., Wang, J.-Y., Wu, Z.-J. & Chen, Z.-N. (2026) A new genus and species of Dipsadidae (Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes) from Guangdong and Hunan Provinces in Southern China. Zootaxa, 5849 (2), 213–226. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5849.2.5