identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03DE87E0FF93FFBAFC1B93BE8F67FEA3.text	03DE87E0FF93FFBAFC1B93BE8F67FEA3.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Laticauda frontalis (de Vis 1905)	<div><p>Laticauda frontalis (de Vis, 1905)</p><p>Platurus frontalis de Vis, 1905. A new genus of lizards. Annals of the Queensland Museum, 6:48. Holotype: Queensland Museum (QM) J202 (Fig. 1). Type locality: New Guinea. Date of collection, donor and/or collector unknown.</p><p>Diagnosis. A banded sea krait of the genus Laticauda characterized by the possession of a yellow upper lip, an undivided rostral scale, an almost invariate 21 mid-body scale rows in both sexes, fewer than 209 (males) and 212 (females) ventral scales, and a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) of 654 mm (males) and 783 mm (females). It can be distinguished from L. laticaudata and L. crockeri by its yellow upper lip (black in laticaudata and crockeri) and from L. semifasciata and L. schistorhyncha by its undivided rostral. From L. colubrina it may be distinguished by the following combination of characters: a lower modal midbody scale row count of 21, lower ventral scale counts in both sexes (Table 1, Fig. 9), smaller size (Table 1) and, throughout the known area of sympatry, by the absence of a lower lateral connection between the black head band and the first black band on the neck (Fig. 2), and the failure of the dark body bands, at least anteriorly, to extend to the middle of the venter (Fig. 1).</p><p>Description of the holotype. A member of the Laticauda colubrina complex in shape; the mid-body diameter is contained 40.7 times in its snout-vent length and the head is scarcely wider than the neck. Head width (widest point) 7.3 mm, head length (snout tip to rear edge of quadrate) 8.9 mm, the latter representing 3.0% of snout-vent length. Rostral undivided, as broad as deep, and separating the nasals. Internasals narrowly in contact behind the rostral, while there is a large azygous scale, almost as large as a prefrontal, separating the prefrontals. Frontal 2.25 times longer than broad, while each supraocular is about the same width as the frontal. Seven supralabials on each side, the second and third contacting the eye. Nine infralabials on each side, the count being confused by a series of splintlike marginal scales separating the anterior infralabials from the lip margins. Temporals 1 + 3 on each side. Postmental scale (sensu McCarthy, 1986) absent.</p><p>Number of scale rows around the body (excluding the ventrals) at the 20th, 50th, 100th, 150th and 200th ventrals respectively are 21, 21, 21, 21, and 19. There are 203 ventral scales (gastrosteges) and 31 divided subcaudal scales, indicating that it is a female (specimen not dissected). The snout-vent length is c. 293 mm (several counts; the specimen is badly kinked in preservation) while the tail length is 34 mm.</p><p>Thirty-one dark body bands and 3 dark caudal bands; the first body band is not connected laterally to the nuchal band (see Fig. 2, upper). This is the smallest specimen of this species seen by the authors, and possesses the characteristic juvenile condition of ventrally incomplete dark cross-bands, the latter generally extending only to the middle or lower parts of the flanks.</p><p>Variation. Variation in a number of phenotypic character states in Laticauda frontalis is compared in Table 1 with variation in the same characters for syntopic Laticauda colubrina (from Vanuatu), for Laticauda colubrina from the Fiji Islands to the east, and from Laticauda saintgironsi from New Caledonia to the south.</p><p>The extent to which the dark bands fail to meet ventrally varies ontogenetically. All dark bands are usually incomplete in juveniles and subadults, while in large adults usually only those bands on the anterior part of the body may remain incomplete.</p><p>The centre of the heart is located between ventrals 67 and 75 (mean = 70.6, SD = 2.37, n = 10).</p><p>Distribution. The holotype of Laticauda frontalis is said to have come from “New Guinea”; if this provenance is correct then it is the only specimen currently known outside the region encompassing Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands. P. Couper (in litt.) of the Queensland Museum advises that there is no additional documentation associated with the holotype’s original acquisition that might provide more accurate information about its provenance (including any doubt or uncertainty) or the unknown donor/collector. All of our fieldacquired specimens were collected on two island complexes— Efate and Espiritu Santo—in the Republic of Vanuatu (formerly the British-French condominion of the New Hebrides).</p><p>.</p><p>There is a single specimen in the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney (MM 633) and another in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (HFH) from the Loyalty Islands (the easternmost islands of New Caledonia located about one-third of the distance between New Caledonia’s main island (Grande Terre) and the southernmost islands of Vanuatu). The species has not been recorded from the Solomon Islands to the northwest of Vanuatu, nor from New Caledonia’s main island complex. Consequently we regard the current distribution of the species to be confined to the Loyalty Islands and the islands of Vanuatu, at least as far north as the island of Espiritu Santo. And in the absence of any records of this species from New Guinea since it was described in 1905, and without secondary sources to confirm the original type locality, we regard either the type locality of “New Guinea” to be erroneous or the holotype to be a waif individual originating from the Vanuatu region. In all of the features used above to characterize this species, the holotype falls within the range of variation recorded in specimens from Vanuatu.</p><p>Ecology. Like other members of the Laticauda colubrina species complex, Laticauda frontalis feeds exclusively on eels belonging to several families—most commonly those in the families Muraenidae and Congridae (Reed et al., 2002).</p>bands (No.) 43 41 34 76 71 55 54 52588 – 893 75 – 133 23 – 24 216 – 234 37 – 46 18 – 308 29 – 36 3 – 5720.7 110.6 23.1 223.9 42.4 143.7 32.8 4.165.72 13.44 0.29 3.49 1.64 50.23 1.75 0.4659 59 29 64 62 63 55 54134 – 1450 774.5 13 – 191 82.1 23 – 27 24.0 202– 239 229.6 26 – 39 33.5 18 – 1560 257.7 29 – 36 33.0 2.5 –5 3.3316.32 34.37 0.85 5.27 1.90 313.21 1.64 0.4953 53 52 52 50 44 52 52333 – 928 44 – 152 23 – 25 215 – 232 37 – 45 15.3 – 500 23 –33 3 – 5688.8 107.2 23.0 221.9 41.8 227.9 27.5 4.0169.79 30.97 0.28 3.70 1.74 115.42 1.98 0.3136 36 36 36 36 32 36 36340 – 1325 40 – 140 23 – 25 217 – 232 29 – 36 19.2 – 1110 24 – 33 1 – 4867.6 95.1 23.8 227.5 32.5 404.4 26.9 3.0275.86 29.56 0.93 3.71 1.70 305.88 2.01 0.41<p>This species was long confused with juveniles and subadults of the sympatric and syntopic Laticauda colubrina, not only because of their morphological similarity but in large part because the two species could be found together, both in terrestrial aggregations and in aquatic feeding sites. On some small coral islets within the lagoon at Panangisu on the northern side of Efate Island in Vanuatu, individuals of both species were found coiled up together under the same rock or pile of decaying vegetation, or in wave-eroded cavities and crevices in the exposed perimeter calcarenitic rock above high tide level but well within the splash zone.</p><p>Other individuals were found in cavities in the wide, flat calcarinite platforms that make up the supralittoral zone around many parts of the larger islands, even close to major urban centres such as the national capital of Port Vila, on Efate Island. At night the snakes could be found emerging from the sea onto these platforms, or moving across them 100 m or more from the sea.</p><p>Maximum prey size is broadly correlated with body size in anguillophagous sea kraits, and so the dwarf frontalis competes for prey with similar-sized (generally sub-adult) members of the larger syntopic Laticauda colubrina (Shine et al., 2002b).</p><p>Material examined. Numerous live specimens captured for venom extraction were examined for a variety of mensurable and meristic characters before being released back into the wild. Heatwole et al. (2005) list additional specimens examined by only one of us (HFH) in other museum collections, but the following specimens assigned by us to this species were preserved and lodged in the herpetological collections of the Australian Museum, Sydney: R164858–68♂♂, R164869– 70♀♀, R164871♂, R144025♀, R144026–28♂♂, R144055♂ from Pango Point at Pango (Etang) Village, near Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu; R164872–79♂♂, R144020♀, R144021–22♂♂ from Niogoriki Island, off Paunangisu Village, N. coast of Efate Island, Vanuatu; R164880–81♂♂, from W. side of Mele Bay, Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu; 144023♀, 144024♂, from Tukutuku Plantation, Tukutuku Bay, Efate Island, Vanuatu.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DE87E0FF93FFBAFC1B93BE8F67FEA3	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Cogger, Harold G.;Heatwole, And Harold F.	Cogger, Harold G., Heatwole, And Harold F. (2006): Laticauda frontalis (de Vis, 1905) and Laticauda saintgironsi n. sp. from Vanuatu and New Caledonia (Serpentes: Elapidae: Laticaudinae) - a New Lineage of Sea Kraits? Records of the Australian Museum 58 (2): 245-256, DOI: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.58.2006.1452, URL: https://journals.australian.museum/cogger-and-heatwole-2006-rec-aust-mus-582-245256/
03DE87E0FF95FFB7FC7990E58E89FB57.text	03DE87E0FF95FFB7FC7990E58E89FB57.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Laticauda frontalis	<div><p>Laticauda saintgironsi n.sp.</p><p>Holotype. Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS) R162999 (AMS field no. 34602), an adult male from <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=166.56903&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-22.329334" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 166.56903/lat -22.329334)">Porc-épic Island</a>, Le Lagon, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=166.56903&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-22.329334" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 166.56903/lat -22.329334)">near Noumea</a>, New Caledonia collected by the authors on 14 September 1993, 22°19'45.6"S 166°34'08.5"E.</p><p>Paratypes. All paratypes are from localities within New Caledonia and are lodged in the Australian Museum, Sydney (AMS): R78031 ♂, R78032 ♀, R78035 – 38 ♀♀, R78042 ♀, R78043 ♂, R78046 ♀ from Île Mouac; R109668 ♂, R109669 – 70 ♀♀, R109671 – 73 ♂♂, R109674 ♀, R109690 ♂, R109691 ♀, R109692 ♂, R109693 ♀, R109694 – 98 ♂♂, R109699 ♀ from Île Redika; R109681 ♀, R109682 – 83 ♂♂, R109684 ♀, R109685 ♂, R109686 ♀, R109687 ♂, R 109688 i, R109689 ♀ from Île Grand Mato; R109623 – 24 ♀♀, R109625 ♂, R109659 ♂, R109660 – 62 ♀♀, R109663 ♂, R109664 ♀, R109665 ♂, R109666 ♀; R164882 – 83 ♂♂, R164884 ♀, R164885 – 86 ♂♂, R164887 ♀, R164888 i, R164889 – 93 ♂♂,  R164894 ♀, from Île Porc épic,  near Noumea;  R78086 ♂ from Île Noue; R144070 – 71 ♀♀,  R144072 – 73 ♂♂ from  near Ouenguie Village, c. 20 km north of Hienghene;   R144065 ♂ from  south of Mou,  east coast;   R144069 ♂ from c. 5 km SE of Koulnoue Village,  near Hienghene;   R144094 – 96 ♂♂ from  near Malabou Beach Hotel,  Baie de la Nehoue, c. 5 km S of Poum. The letter i refers to immature/indeterminate specimens.</p><p>Other specimens examined included living individuals that were weighed, measured and scalation examined before being released back into the wild; other specimens examined by one of the authors (HFH) are listed and discussed in Heatwole et al. (2005).</p><p>Diagnosis. A banded sea krait of the genus Laticauda characterized by the possession of a yellow or cream upper lip, an undivided rostral scale, usually 21 mid-body scale rows in both sexes (but occasionally 23 or rarely 25 rows, mode 21 in both sexes), ventral scales from 211 to 224 in males and from 215 to 230 in females, and a maximum snoutvent length (SVL) of 817 mm (males) and 1090 mm (females). It can be distinguished from L. laticaudata and L. crockeri by its yellow upper lip (black or dark brown in laticaudata and crockeri) and from L. semifasciata and L. schistorhyncha by its pale upper lip and undivided rostral (upper lip brown and rostral divided in semifasciata and schistorhyncha).</p><p>From the nearest populations (Fiji and Vanuatu) of its allopatric congener L. colubrina it may be distinguished by a lower modal mid-body scale row count of 21, its lower ventral scale counts (Table 1, Fig. 8); smaller size (Table 1); dark body bands either not meeting ventrally or narrowing ventrally, often with a pale mid-ventral blotch; and its distinctive body colour in which the paler bands are predominently brown (fawn to rich russet vs steely grey or blue in L. colubrina).</p><p>From L. frontalis is may be distinguished by its larger size and higher ventral and subcaudal counts (Table 1) and the distinctive brown dorsal colour (grey or blue-grey in frontalis).</p><p>Description of the holotype. A typical member of the Laticauda colubrina complex in shape, with a relatively slender body in which the mid-body diameter is contained 33.3 times in its snout-vent length and the head is scarcely wider than the neck. Head width (widest point) 16.2 mm, head length (snout tip to rear edge of quadrate) 21.8 mm, the latter representing 3.0% of snout-vent length. The rostral is undivided, about as broad as deep, and separates the nasals, each of which contacts the single preocular scale on each side. The internasals are about as large as the prefrontals, meeting broadly in the middle. The prefrontals are separated posteriorly by a large azygous scale, about equal in size to one of the internasals. A single, large supraocular scale on either side of the frontal. The latter is only slightly longer than broad.Six supralabials on each side, the third and fourth entering the eye. One anterior temporal scale on each side, and two posterior temporals. Six or seven infralabials, though the counts are uncertain because all but the first three infralabials are excluded from the lip by an irregular series of splint-like marginal scales.</p><p>There are 21 mid-body scale rows. Body scale row numbers are reduced only posteriorly, with 21 rows at the 20th, 50th, 100th and 150th ventrals and 19 rows at the 200th ventral. There are 218 ventral scales and 38 pairs of subcaudal scales. The snout-vent length (SVL) in life was 727 mm, while the tail length was 88 mm. The live weight was 185 g.</p><p>The colour pattern (Figs. 2 and 3) consists of a broad black band across the back of the head, extending forward to about the middle of the frontal scale; this band is joined laterally on each side by a broad dark stripe from behind the eye and another continuous black stripe below each lower jaw. At the point where these all meet there is a broad lateral black bar linking the dark head band to the first neck band. There are 28 black bands on the trunk and four on the tail. All of these black bands extend right around the body, but most trunk bands also have a pale, mid-ventral blotch. Along the vertebral line the pale bands between the black bands are 60–66% as wide as the black bands.</p><p>In life, the colour of the holotype from above was bright russet-orange, fading gradually on the flanks to a pale cream or white, but with many of the individual scales tipped or edged with black or dark blue-grey, giving the pale bands a reticulated appearance; the dark bands were glossy black. Ventrally the colour was creamy-white, with the margins of the ventral scales slightly darker-edged with pale brown. Most of the scales on the head and lips are finely margined with black, emphasizing the sutures.</p><p>Variation. The general appearance and non-diagnostic scalation varies little from that described for the holotype above. As in all Laticauda there is marked sexual dimorphism in body mass and relative tail length, sometimes exaggerated in older (larger) individuals Variation in those principal morphological characters used in diagnosing the species are given in Table 1 and Figs. 4–7. In both cases the variables for Laticauda saintgironsi are compared with those in adjacent regional populations of both Laticauda colubrina and Laticauda frontalis.</p><p>The number of scale rows around the body (excluding the ventrals) varies along the length of the body, as shown in Table 1 for (usually) five points along the body—at the 20th, 50th, 100th, 150th and either the last or 200th ventral (whichever came first), but the mid-body count is mostly 21 in males and females (Fig. 9) and only occasionally 23 or 25. The ventral scales range from 211–230 (Table 1, Fig. 8) and the paired subcaudal scales range from 25–42 (37–</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. frontalis F 1–112 = 3.704 p = 0.057</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. colubrina (Fiji) F 1–111 = 19.932 p &lt;0.001</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–109 = 2.128 p = 0.147</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. frontalis F 1–85 = 4 p &lt;0.001</p><p>L. frontalis vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–83 = 5.561 p = 0.021</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–82 = 2.727 p = 0.103</p><p>L. frontalis vs. L. saintgironsi F 1–40 = 13.783 p = 0.001</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. colubrina (Fiji) F 1–55 = 3.582 p = 0.064</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–78 = 1.791 p = 0.185</p><p>L. frontalis vs. L. colubrina (Fiji) F 1–49 = 9.129 p = 0.004</p><p>L. frontalis vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–72 = 7.102 p = 0.009</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–87 = 0.767 p = 0.384</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. frontalis F 1–52 = 0.213 p = 0.647</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–85 = 133.073 p &lt;0.001</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–92 = 2.578 p = 0.112</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. frontalis F 1–69 = 49.749 p &lt;0.001</p><p>L. frontalis vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–76 = 0.336 p = 0.564</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–109 = 56.594 p &lt;0.001</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. frontalis F 1–52 = 0.213 p = 0.647</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–85 = 133.073 p &lt;0.001</p><p>L. saintgironsi vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–92 = 2.578 p = 0.112</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. frontalis F 1–69 = 49.749 p &lt;0.001</p><p>L. frontalis vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–76 = 0.336 p = 0.564</p><p>L. colubrina (Fiji) vs. L. colubrina (Vanuatu) F 1–109 = 56.594 p &lt;0.001</p><p>42 in males, 25–34 in females, Table 1). The total number of dark body bands ranges from 23–29 (males) and 21–30 (females), while the number of dark tail bands ranges from 3–4 (males) and 2–3 (females).</p><p>Distribution. Known only from the French Territory of New Caledonia, where it occurs around the entire coast of the main island (Grande Terre) and its many offshore islands, often in very large numbers locally. It is recorded from the Loyalty Islands, but there are no current records there of syntopy with its closest congener, Laticauda frontalis.</p><p>Ecology. This is a typical member of the Laticauda colubrina complex, spending much of its time in coastal waters feeding on a variety of eels in shallow reef waters, alternating with periods spent ashore sheltering in shoreline vegetation, piles of dense litter, or, on rocky shorelines, in crevices and caves, or under boulders. They may travel some hundreds of metres inland, and climb to the tops of rocky hills and islands that may be 100 m or more in elevation. Aggregations of 30 or more individuals are often encountered in single refuges, while some hundreds of individuals may be found on individual small islands within the lagoons of large reef systems.</p><p>An extensive summary of the distribution and ecology of this species, under the name Laticauda colubrina, has recently been provided by Ineich &amp; LaBoute (2002). Other studies, also as L. colubrina, include St Girons (1964), McCarthy (1986) and Shine et al. (2003). The species is abundant and wide-ranging around the coast of New Caledonia and its numerous off-shore islands.</p><p>Etymology. This species in named for the late Dr Hubert Saint Girons, whose many outstanding contributions to international herpetology ranged across disciplines and continents. In order for future workers to clearly identify the patronym, the name saintgironsi is formed directly from the modern personal name as a noun in the genitive case.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DE87E0FF95FFB7FC7990E58E89FB57	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Cogger, Harold G.;Heatwole, And Harold F.	Cogger, Harold G., Heatwole, And Harold F. (2006): Laticauda frontalis (de Vis, 1905) and Laticauda saintgironsi n. sp. from Vanuatu and New Caledonia (Serpentes: Elapidae: Laticaudinae) - a New Lineage of Sea Kraits? Records of the Australian Museum 58 (2): 245-256, DOI: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.58.2006.1452, URL: https://journals.australian.museum/cogger-and-heatwole-2006-rec-aust-mus-582-245256/
