Cryptelytrops albolabris (Gray, 1842)

Ziegler, Thomas, Hendrix, Ralf, Thanh, Vu Ngoc, Vogt, Martina, Forster, Bernhard & Kien, Dang Ngoc, 2007, The diversity of a snake community in a karst forest ecosystem in the central Truong Son, Vietnam, with an identification key, Zootaxa 1493, pp. 1-40 : 5

Cryptelytrops albolabris (Gray, 1842) : White lipped bamboo snake / Ran luc mep trang

During the dry season, on 28 July 2006, we obtained an adult male specimen from local people (ZFMK 86454, SVL 467, TaL 128, TL 595 mm). The species occurs all over the country ( Nguyen et al. 2005, Vogel 2006) and the recent finding ( Figure 3 ) was identifiable as C. albolabris among others by its upper lip being sharply demarcated from the upper part of the head, the distinct white stripe down the side of the body, the first supralabial fused to nasal, the internasals being in contact, 21 scales around midbody, and the gular scales arranged in regular pairs ( Malhotra & Thorpe 1997, Ziegler 2002). Further characteristic scalation features are as follows: 12 supralabials; 13–14 infralabials; one elongated subocular; two small postoculars; 12 scales in a line between narrow supraoculars; dorsal scale rows keeled; four preventrals and 155 ventrals; anal entire; 75 divided subcaudals.

Figures

FIGURE 3. White lipped bamboo snake (Cryptelytrops albolabris) from Phong Nha - Ke Bang (ZFMK 86454). Photo: Ralf Hendrix