Brachyorrhos raffrayi ( Sauvage, 1879 ) Murphy & Mumpuni & Lang & Gower & Sanders, 2012

Murphy, John C., Mumpuni, Lang, Ruud de, Gower, David J. & Sanders, Kate L., 2012, The Moluccan Short-Tailed Snakes Of The Genus Brachyorrhos Kuhl (Squamata: Serpentes: Homalopsidae), And The Status Of Calamophis Meyer, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 60 (2), pp. 501-514 : 509-510

Brachyorrhos raffrayi ( Sauvage, 1879) new combination

( Fig. 4c )

Atractocephalus raffrayi Sauvage, 1879: 62

Brachyorrhos albus var conjunctus Fischer, 1880: 879 Brachyorrhos albus Boulenger, 1893: 305

Material Examined. — Holotype. MNHN 5174 from Ternate, Indonesia. Ternate: BMNH 82.11 .25.14, and 48.1.31.10; MNHN 5782 and 1991.1657; MSNG 30222 a–f, 54459–62; MZB 4010 , 4009 .

Diagnosis. – A Brachyorrhos with six upper labials, the third, rarely 3 + 4, enter the orbit, the tallest upper labial is number three; this snake also has a very pointed snout. A preocular is present in about 35% of the specimens examined, making it possible to confuse this species with B. albus . However, it has seven upper labials with four or 3 + 4 in the orbit. The Halmahera species has seven upper labial, the fourth enters the orbit, and the tallest is the fifth.

Redescription of the Holotype. — MNHN 5174 is a female with a total length of 530 mm (480 + 50 mm) it has 176 ventrals and 28 subcaudals. Upper labials 6/6, the third is the tallest and enters the orbit, 2+3 contact the PLP shield. There is one primary temporal scale on each side (contrary to Sauvage’s report of two primary temporals). The dorsum is a uniform dark brown that lightens laterally, the ventral surface is a light yellow-brown, and there is a mid-line stripe on the ventral surface of the tail.

This specimen was accompanied by a second specimen 5174A (now MNHN 1991.1657 ), while not designated as a syntype or paratype, it is very similar to MNHN 5174 ; it is a 380 mm (345 + 35) female with 180 ventrals and 27 subcaudals. It is otherwise the same as the type .

Description. — The snout is exceptionally pointed; the rostral is visible from above and separates the nasals. The nasals are divided or semi-divided with the nostril in the anterior portion of the scale. The prefrontal, preocular, and loreal are usually fused into a large shield. However, six (35%) of our 17 specimens have a preocular scale. The primary temporal scale is single and plate-like. There are large occipital scales that make contact with the primary temporal scale. Upper labials number six; upper labials 2-3 make contact with the fused loreal-prefrontal shield; the third upper labial (rarely 3 + 4), enters the orbit, third upper labial is the tallest. Lower labials seven, rarely six; the first pair of lower labials make contact on the midline of the chin posterior to the mental. The first four contact the only pair of chin shields. Dorsal scales on the body are smooth and in 19 rows, the number of rows on the neck may be 19 or by exception 20, and there is no posterior reduction in scale row numbers. Ventrals in males 168–177 (N = 10, = 171.80, SD = 3.01); in females 176–182 (N = 7, = 178.71, SD =2.21). Subcaudal scales in males 33–37 (N = 10, = 34.50, SD = 2.22); in females 27–28 (N = 7, = 27.29, SD = 0.49). Two sample t-tests found the ventrals (p <0.01) and subcaudals (p <0.01) sexually dimorphic in this species.

In alcohol one juvenile specimen has a light cream nape stripe, cream colored upper labials, and some indistinct bands on the anterior body immediately behind the head. Adults are a uniform brown-grey above and have a lighter, brown-grey ventral surface. In life, one specimen is red-brown above.

Size. — Males: SVL 317–395mm (N = 10, = 231, SD = 106.98); tails: males 17–54 mm (N = 10, = 34.90, SD = 14.83); tail/SVL ratios for males were 13.6–17.4% (N = 10,

= 15.41, SD = 2.04). Females: SVL 345–575mm (N = 7, = 424.14, SD = 79.88); tails 35–65 mm (N = 7, = 44.71, SD = 10.37); tail/SVL ratios for females were 8.9–11.3% (N = 7, = 10.37, SD = 1.20).

Distribution. — Ternate, Indonesia

Etymology. — Named after French diplomat and zoologist Achille Raffray who donated the specimen to the Paris museum.

Figures

Fig. 4. A comparison of the labial architecture for four species of Brachyorrhos: (A) B. albus (FMNH 134323) Ambon; (B) B. gastrotaenius (BMNH 6312425) Buru holotype; (C) B. raffrayi (MNHN 5174) Ternate, holotype; (D) B. wallacei (MZB 3463) Halmahera holotype. Labials are numbered, T denotes tallest labial; P = preocular; PFL = prefrontal-loreal shield; PLP = preocular-loreal-prefrontal shield.