Lycodon futsingensis (Pope, 1928)

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 : 236

Lycodon futsingensis (Pope, 1928)

Futsing Wolf Snake ( Fig. 8D)

One adult individual of L. futsingensis was observed by P. Brakels and N. Maury on 6 January 2019 in Vang Vieng District, Vientiane Province (18°97.408’N, 102°41.690’E; elevation 370 m asl), and one individual was observed by N. Maury on 21 August 2019 in Xay District , Oudomxai Province (20°39.598’N, 102°04.241’E; elevation 850 m asl) .

Morphological characters of the individuals from Vientiane and Oudomxai provinces agreed well with the descriptions of Vogel et al. (2009) and Luu et al. (2013). The photographed individual ( Fig. 8D) agrees with the diagnosis of L. futsingensis in the following characters: medium body size, elongate habitus; head moderately distinct from neck, markedly flattened; pupil vertically oval; loreal present, not entering the orbit; 1 preocular; 2 postoculars; 2 anterior temporals; 2 posterior temporals; 8 supralabials, 1 st and 2 nd in contact with the nasal 2 nd and 3 rd in contact with the loreal, 3 rd –6 th entering orbit, 7 th and 8 th largest; dorsal scale rows entirely smooth; ventrals 199; cloacal scale undivided; subcaudals 73, divided. Coloration of dorsum dark brownish-gray with 24 whitish rings across the body and nine across the tail; head with the remnants of a dark-gray ring; ventral surfaces cream, anterior part uniform, with dark speckling posteriorly, underside of tail dark.

Ecological notes. The individual from Vientiane was found at ca. 2000 h on the rocks at the top of a waterfall, the specimen from Oudomxai was observed at ca. 2050 h along the road not far from the stream. The surrounding habitat was mixed secondary evergreen forest.

Distribution. In Laos, this species has been previously recorded only from Khammouan Province ( Luu et al. 2013). This is the second record of L. futsingensis from Laos, as well as the first records from Vientiane and Oudomxai provinces. Elsewhere, this species has been reported from southern China and northern Vietnam ( Luu et al. 2013).