Pareas carinatus (Boie, 1828)

Nguyen, Tan Van, Brakels, Peter, Maury, Nathanael, Sudavanh, Somchit, Pawangkhanant, Parinya, Idiiatullina, Sabira, Lorphengsy, Sengvilay, Inkhavilay, Khamla, Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon & Poyarkov, Nikolay A., 2020, New herpetofaunal observations from Laos based on photo records, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 248) 14 (2), pp. 218-249 : 238

Pareas carinatus (Boie, 1828)

Keeled Slug Snake ( Fig. 9C)

One adult P. carinatus was observed by P. Brakels and N. Maury on 9 November 2018 in Keo Oudom District , Vientiane Province (18°34.985’N, 102°23.532’E; elevation 190 m asl) and four other individuals were observed by N. Maury in the same area during earlier visits in 2016 and 2017 .

Morphological characters of the individuals from Vientiane Province agreed well with the descriptions of Smith (1943), Mathew and Meetei (2004), and Guo et al. (2009). The photographed individual ( Fig. 9C) agrees with the diagnosis of P. carinatus in the following characters: slender, laterally compressed body; head elongated, distinct from neck; eye large; pupil vertical; loreal present, not entering the orbit; 1 preocular; 2 postoculars; 2 crescent-like suboculars; 3 anterior temporals; 4 posterior temporals; 7 supralabials, 1 st and 2 nd contact with the nasal 2 nd in contact with the loreal, 2 nd – 5 th supralabials in contact with suboculars, not contacting the eye, 6 th largest; prefrontals not in contact with eye; mental groove absent; dorsal scale rows slightly keeled; anterior vertebral scales slightly enlarged; ventrals 174; cloacal undivided; subcaudals 80, divided. Coloration of dorsal olive-brown with indistinct, diffuse dark crossbars; head with thin, dark subocular streaks and indistinct black postocular lines fusing on nape; ventral surfaces pale yellow with irregular small black spots, becoming denser towards the tail; iris orange.

Ecological notes. The individuals were found at 2300 h in the vegetation above a small pond in the garden of a resort. The resort is situated along the Nam Lik River, with riparian vegetation and secondary open disturbed forest along the banks.

Distribution. In Laos, this species has been previously reported from Phongsali, Oudomxai, Bolikhamxai, and Champasak provinces ( Teynié and David 2010). This is the first record from Vientiane Province. Elsewhere, this species has been reported from southern China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia ( Uetz et al. 2020).