Colubridae, Oppell, 1811

Pham, Anh Van, Nguyen, Truong Quang, Pham, Cuong The, Sung, Nenh Ba, Le, Minh Duc, Nguyen, Tao Thien & Ziegler, Thomas, 2022, The herpetofauna of Xuan Nha Nature Reserve, Vietnam, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 323) 16 (2), pp. 215-236 : 229-232

Colubridae

Ahaetulla prasina (Boie, 1827) ( Fig. 6C ): An individual was found at night on the thick grass in secondary forest.

Boiga cyanea (Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854) ( Fig. 6D ): A road-killed specimen was found in the afternoon on Road 102. The surrounding habitat was evergreen forest.

Boiga guangxiensis Wen, 1998 ( Fig. 6E ): An individual was observed at night on a tree branch near a stream in evergreen forest.

Boiga multomaculata (Boie, 1827) ( Fig. 6F ): An individual was observed at night while moving on the grass near a stream at the forest edge.

Calamaria pavimentata Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854 ( Fig. 6G ): A road-killed individual was found in the morning on Road 102. The surrounding habitat was secondary forest.

Coelognathus radiatus (Boie, 1827) ( Fig. 6H ): An individual was observed in the afternoon while moving across Road 102.

Dendrelaphis pictus (Gmelin, 1789) ( Fig. 6I ): Two specimens were found in the afternoon near Road 102, an individual crawling on a tree branch and a road-killed individual on Highway 6. This is a new record for Xuan Nha NR.

Elaphe moellendorffi (Boettger, 1886) ( Fig. 6J ): An individual was observed in the afternoon near the entrance of a cave at the forest edge.

Elaphe taeniura (Cope, 1861) ( Fig. 6K ): An individual was observed in the morning near a large rock at the forest edge, and another individual was detected in an agricultural area. This is a new record for Xuan Nha NR.

Euprepiophis mandarinus (Cantor, 1842) ( Fig. 6L ): A road-killed individual was found in the morning on Highway 6. The surrounding habitat was evergreen forest.

Gonyosoma coeruleum Liu, Hou, Lwin, Wang, and Rao 2021 ( Fig. 6M ): A road-killed specimen (adult male) was found in the morning on Highway 6. The surrounding habitat was evergreen forest. This is the first record of this species in Vietnam. Gonyosoma coeruleum was recently described by Liu et al. (2021) from Yunnan Province, China. The new species closely resembles G. prasinum (Blyth) , but it is differentiated from the latter species by having the precloacal plate divided, iris blue and inside of mouth greyish-white in life. Morphological characteristics of the specimen from Son La Province are as follows: Snout-vent length: 662 mm; tail length: 242 mm; head distinguished from neck; pupil rounded; rostral broader than high; internasals as wide as long; prefrontal shorter than length of frontal; frontal pentagonal; parietals longer than wide; nasal paired; loreal 1/1; supralabials 9/9, fourth to sixth entering orbit; infralabials 10/10, first to fifth bordering chin shields; preocular 1/1; postoculars 2/2; anterior temporals 2/2, posterior temporals 2/2; dorsal scale rows 19–19–15; ventrals 198; cloacal scale paired; subcaudals 100, paired. Coloration in preservative: dorsal surface green; belly greenish (determination after Liu et al. 2021).

Gonyosoma frenatum (Gray, 1853) ( Fig. 6N ): A road-killed specimen was found in the afternoon on Highway 6. The surrounding habitat was evergreen forest.

Lycodon futsingensis (Pope, 1928) ( Fig. 6O ): One specimen was found at night on the ground while moving near a stream in evergreen forest.

Lycodon meridionalis (Bourret, 1935) ( Fig. 6P ): A road-killed specimen was found in the afternoon on Highway 6. The surrounding habitat was evergreen forest.

Oligodon fasciolatus (Günther, 1864) ( Fig. 6Q ): An individual was observed at night on the ground while moving across a forest trail, and a road-killed specimen was found on Highway 6. This is a new record for Xuan Nha NR.

Oreocryptophis porphyraceus (Cantor, 1839) ( Fig. 6R ): An individual was observed at night while moving on the roadside. The surrounding habitat was evergreen forest.

Ptyas korros (Schlegel, 1837) ( Fig. 7A ): Five individuals were found during the daytime on the ground or on tree branches near bamboo bushes, abandoned fields, and at the roadside near forest edge.

Figures

Fig. 6. Snake species recorded in Xuan Nha Nature Reserve, Vietnam: (A) Indotyphlops braminus, (B) Xenopeltis unicolor, (C) Ahaetulla prasina, (D) Boiga cyanea, (E) B. guangxiensis, (F) B. multomaculata, (G) Calamaria pavimentata, (H) Coelognathus radiatus, (I) Dendrelaphis pictus, (J) Elaphe moellendorffi, (K) Elaphe taeniura, (L) Euprepiophis mandarinus, (M) Gonyosoma coeruleum, (N) G. frenatum, (O) Lycodon futsingensis, (P) L. meridionalis, (Q) Oligodon fasciolatus, and (R) Oreocryptophis porphyraceus.

Fig. 7. Snake and turtle species recorded in Xuan Nha Nature Reserve, Vietnam: (A) Ptyas korros, (B) Bungarus fasciatus, (C) Bungarus wanghaotingi, (D) Naja atra, (E) Sinomicrurus macclellandi, (F) Psammodynastes pulverulentus, (G) Hebius chapaensis, (H) Rhabdophis nigrocinctus, (I) Rhabdophis helleri, (J) Trimerodytes percarinatus, (K) Pareas hamptoni, (L) Ovophis monticola, (M) Trimeresurus albolabris, (N) Platysternon megacephalum, and (O) Manouria impressa.