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Type: Article
Published: 2021-08-13
Page range: 401-433
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Hidden in the plain sight: a new species of Rhabdophis (Serpentes: Natricinae) from the Rhabdophis himalayanus complex

Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center and Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019, USA.
Laboratory of Herpetology, Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences–LIPI, Widyasatwa Loka Jl. Raya Jakarta Bogor km 46, Cibinong, West Java, Indonesia
Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center and Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 76019, USA.
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode – 673006, Kerala, India.
Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom. Senckenberg Dresden, Königsbrücker Landstraße 159, 01109 Dresden, Germany
Reptilia biodiversity hotspot cryptic Northeast India nuchal gland Rhabdophis sp. nov. systematics taxonomy rare

Abstract

A new species of natricine snake of the genus Rhabdophis is described from Northeast India. Morphologically the new species is similar to Rhabdophis himalayanus but it can be distinguished from it by lacking a nuchal groove and nuchal glands, being relatively smaller, and having a distinct neck, ventral, and subcaudal coloration. In overall coloration it resembles R. chrysargos, from which it is distinguished by several aspects of its morphology and genetic differences. The discovery of Rhabdophis bindi sp. nov. reveals that forested regions in the northeastern part of India needs further biological exploration.

 

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