taxonID	type	description	language	source
32DE4984247A54058CE1ECE5CB5D0D9A.taxon	description	Figs 2, 3, 4, 5 A, 6 A	en	Liu, Shuo, Wang, JiShan, Hou, Mian, Zhang, Liang, Wang, Qiaoyan, Zong, Chunmiao, Zhou, Jiang, Rao, Dingqi, David, Patrick, Vogel, Gernot (2025): A new species of the genus Hebius (Squamata, Natricidae), previously confused with H. boulengeri (Gressitt, 1937). ZooKeys 1254: 263-282, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1254.161130
32DE4984247A54058CE1ECE5CB5D0D9A.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. Body slender, SVL 332 – 406 mm, TL 506 – 610 mm; tail relatively long, TaL / TL 0.31 – 0.34; dorsal scales in 19 - 19 - 17 rows, all strongly keeled except for 1 st row on each side; ventrals 148 – 155; cloacal plate divided; subcaudals 90 – 105, paired; loreal one, not entering orbit; preocular one, postoculars three; supralabials mostly nine, rarely ten, mostly 4 th – 6 th entering orbit, rarely 5 th – 7 th entering orbit; infralabials 9 – 11; maxillary teeth 23 – 25, last one or two distinctly enlarged, no diastema separating enlarged posterior teeth with anterior ones; a distinct continuous white streak from posteroventral margin of eye extending backward and upward to nape on each side; dorsolateral stripes present; venter white, ventrolateral blotches present, composed of a dark grey spot on edge of each ventral on each side.	en	Liu, Shuo, Wang, JiShan, Hou, Mian, Zhang, Liang, Wang, Qiaoyan, Zong, Chunmiao, Zhou, Jiang, Rao, Dingqi, David, Patrick, Vogel, Gernot (2025): A new species of the genus Hebius (Squamata, Natricidae), previously confused with H. boulengeri (Gressitt, 1937). ZooKeys 1254: 263-282, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1254.161130
32DE4984247A54058CE1ECE5CB5D0D9A.taxon	etymology	Etymology. Named after the late renowned Chinese storytelling artist, Tianfang Shan (17. 12.1934 – 11.09. 2018). This species was previously confused with H. boulengeri, whose Chinese name is “ 白眉腹链蛇 ”. In China, when “ 白眉 ” is mentioned, people first think of Tianfang Shan’s classic storytelling “ 白眉大侠 ”. This specific epithet commemorates Tianfang Shan, who devoted his whole life to storytelling and left countless indelible memories for people. We suggest “ Shan’s keelback ” as the English name and “ 单氏腹链蛇 ” (Pinyin: shàn shì fù liàn shé) as the Chinese name of the new species.	en	Liu, Shuo, Wang, JiShan, Hou, Mian, Zhang, Liang, Wang, Qiaoyan, Zong, Chunmiao, Zhou, Jiang, Rao, Dingqi, David, Patrick, Vogel, Gernot (2025): A new species of the genus Hebius (Squamata, Natricidae), previously confused with H. boulengeri (Gressitt, 1937). ZooKeys 1254: 263-282, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1254.161130
32DE4984247A54058CE1ECE5CB5D0D9A.taxon	description	Description of holotype. Body cylindrical, slender (TL 539 mm), tail relatively long (TaL / TL 0.31); head moderately large, elongate (HL / SVL 0.044), distinct from neck; snout narrow, relatively long (SnL / HL 0.24), tip obtuse; eye large (EDH / SnL 0.72, EDV / DLip 2.36), pupils round; nostrils oriented laterally. Rostral wider than high, approximately twice as width as high, nearly invisible from above; nasal divided into two halves, posterior half slightly larger than anterior half; internasals two; prefrontals two, in contact with loreal, prefrontal suture slightly longer than internasal suture; frontal shield shaped, elongate, approximately 1.4 times as long as width, approximately 2.2 times length of prefrontal suture; supraocular one on each side, elongate, almost as long as frontal; parietals two, large, approximately 1.9 times as long as width, almost 1.5 times length of frontal, parietal suture almost equal to length of frontal; loreal one on each side, in contact with 2 nd – 3 rd supralabials on left side and 3 rd – 4 th supralabials on right side, not entering orbit; preoculars one on each side, vertically elongate; postoculars three on each side, size decreasing from top to bottom; supralabials nine on left side and ten on right side, 4 th – 6 th entering orbit on left side and 5 th – 7 th entering orbit on right side, penultimate one largest; anterior temporal one on each side, posterior temporals two on each side; mental triangular, small; infralabials ten on each side, first pair in contact with each other after mental, 1 st – 5 th in contact with anterior chin shield; chin shield two pairs; posterior chin shields longer than anterior ones. Dorsal scales in 19 - 19 - 17 rows, all strongly keeled except for 1 st row on each side smooth or feebly keeled; preventrals two, ventrals 148; subcaudals 90, paired; cloacal plate divided. Maxillary teeth 25 (24 + 1), becoming enlarged posteriorly with last one distinctly enlarged, no proper diastema between last enlarged one and anterior ones.	en	Liu, Shuo, Wang, JiShan, Hou, Mian, Zhang, Liang, Wang, Qiaoyan, Zong, Chunmiao, Zhou, Jiang, Rao, Dingqi, David, Patrick, Vogel, Gernot (2025): A new species of the genus Hebius (Squamata, Natricidae), previously confused with H. boulengeri (Gressitt, 1937). ZooKeys 1254: 263-282, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1254.161130
32DE4984247A54058CE1ECE5CB5D0D9A.taxon	distribution	Distribution. The new species is currently known only from Xishuangbanna Prefecture and Pu’er City, Yunnan Province, China (Fig. 7).	en	Liu, Shuo, Wang, JiShan, Hou, Mian, Zhang, Liang, Wang, Qiaoyan, Zong, Chunmiao, Zhou, Jiang, Rao, Dingqi, David, Patrick, Vogel, Gernot (2025): A new species of the genus Hebius (Squamata, Natricidae), previously confused with H. boulengeri (Gressitt, 1937). ZooKeys 1254: 263-282, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1254.161130
