Lycodon deccanensis Ganesh, Deuti, Punith, Achyuthan, Mallik, Adhikari, Vogel, 2020
|
publication ID |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.4.60570 |
|
publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A61632B8-D3D1-4D18-83B8-9009156A3FAD |
|
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/99A010BF-79CF-5961-A0DC-27B1072FC149 |
|
treatment provided by |
|
|
scientific name |
Lycodon deccanensis Ganesh, Deuti, Punith, Achyuthan, Mallik, Adhikari, Vogel, 2020 |
| status |
|
Lycodon deccanensis Ganesh, Deuti, Punith, Achyuthan, Mallik, Adhikari, Vogel, 2020 Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 , 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 , Table 1
Material examined.
adult male, NCBS NRC-AA-0010 collected from Devarayanadurga , Tumkur District, Karnataka, India (13.375778°N, 77.210972°E, elevation 1093 m, datum WGS84) by Yatin Kalki, Sachin Gowda, Manu Agnivamshi, Karthik Singh and Zeeshan A. Mirza on 17 June 2020 GoogleMaps . Adult female, BNHS 3601, collected from the same locality by Manu Agnivamshi, Sachin Gowda, Yatin Kalki and Zeeshan A. Mirza on 19 June 2020 GoogleMaps .
Diagnosis
(based on recently collected material). A small sized species of the genus Lycodon measuring SVL 300-350 mm, bearing 17 smooth DSR at midbody. Loreal in contact with internasal and preocular not in contact with frontal. Nine supralabials of which 3rd to 5th touch eye. Anal shield undivided. Ventrals 204-214 and subcaudals 66-69. Hemipenis cylindrical, not forked, with long spikes in distal half.
Comparison.
Lycodon deccanensis differs from congeners recorded from India and those bearing 17 DSR from south Asia, in bearing the following different or non-overlapping characters: 17 smooth DSR at midbody (vs. 13 and 15 DSR in L. nympha and L. gracilis respectively, DSR keeled in L. fasciatus (Anderson, 1879), L. gammiei (Blanford, 1878) and L. septentrionalis (Gunther, 1875)), nine supralabials (vs. eight in L. striatus , L. mackinnoni Wall, 1906 and L. fasciatus , 6 or 7 in L. nympha and L. gracilis ) ventrals 204-214 (vs. 174-186 in L. anamallensis , 165-183 in L. flavomaculatus , 167-188 in L. jara (Shaw, 1802), 218-237 in L. tiwarii Biswas & Sanyal, 1965, 176-206 in L. travancoricus , 154-195 in L. striatus , 163-187 in L. laoensis Gunther, 1864), anal plate undivided (divided in L. aulicus , L. flavicollis , L. nympha , L. gracilis , L. striatus , L. anamallensis , L. flavomaculatus , L. hypsirhinoides (Theobald, 1868)), a single preocular present (vs. preocular absent in L. subcinctus Boie, 1827), loreal in contact with internasal (vs. not in contact in L. travancoricus and L. zawi Slowinski, Pawar, Win, Thin, Gyi, Oo & Tun, 2001).
Description of male NCBS NRC-AA-0010
(Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ). The specimen is in good condition preserved in a coil with its head resting outside the coil. The specimen bears two longitudinal incisions and hemipenes are partially everted (Fig. 1a, b View Figure 1 ).
Head short, measuring 12.3 mm from snout tip to the constriction at neck, comprising 3.39% of total length; high, 3.5 mm, with steeply domed snout in lateral view; upper jaw visible from ventral side. Head distinctly broader (5.9 mm) than neck (3.7 mm). Snout gradually tapering to blunt, rounded tip in dorsal view (Fig. 2a View Figure 2 ). Rostral subtriangular, slightly visible when viewed from top; wider (1.3 mm) than deep (0.6 mm). Nostrils small, elliptical shaped, present in the basal region of the subtriangular nasal. Paired internasals, slightly wider (1.5 mm) than long (1.1 mm); smaller than prefrontals. Prefrontals, almost as long (1.8 mm) as wide (1.8 mm). Frontal bell shaped, 2.1 mm at the widest anterior border, median length 3.2 mm. Parietals 3.7 mm long, 2.6 mm at its widest anterior, 1.0 mm at its posterior border. Temporals 2+3+3 on right side and 2+3+4 on left side, subequal in size, posterior one inserts deeply between supralabial sixth, seventh and eighth. Six nuchal scales, slightly larger than adjacent dorsal scales, bordering parietals. Supraocular larger than preocular; preocular large, deeper (2.2 mm) than wide (1 mm). Loreal longer (1.4 mm) than high (0.7 mm). Two postoculars, upper one larger. Eye circular, 2.1 mm diameter with an elliptic pupil. Nine supralabials, third, fourth and fifth in contact with orbit (Fig. 2c, d View Figure 2 ). Supralabial I-III subequal in height and, apart from second supralabial, contacts only rostral and nasal. Second supralabial in contact with nasal, loreal and first + third supralabials. Fourth and fifth supralabials wider than high. Third supralabial in contact with preocular, second and forth supralabials and loreal. Sixth supralabial as high as the third supralabial.
Mental short, triangular. Infralabials 10, first really long, II to VI infralabials short and thin, fifth onwards larger (Fig. 1b View Figure 1 ). Seventh infralabial broadest and ninth much longest. First seven infralabials in contact with the genials. Anterior genials almost twice as long (2.4 mm) as wide (1.1 mm); posterior genials 1.1 mm long and 1 mm wide and in contact (Fig. 2b View Figure 2 ).
Body laterally compressed, ventral surface distinctly flattened. Dorsal scales in 17-17-15 rows. First lateral reduction observed after the 10th ventral is at 70% of the ventrals where third and fourth DSR are involved in reduction from 17 DSR to 15 at ventral 143. Dorsal scales imbricate, regularly arranged, vertebral scales not enlarged. All body scales smooth and glossy, with apical pit. Ventral scales 204 in number excluding three preventrals. Anal shield undivided, slightly larger than last ventral scale. Subcaudals paired, 68 in number. Tail terminates in a sharp, tapering apical spine. Total length 375 mm, tail length 75 mm, tail/total length ratio 0.2. Hemipenis cylindrical, not forked, with long spikes in distal half.
Colouration in preservative
(Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 ). Background colour brown throughout, with more than 42 creamish white bands from the neck to the tail. The first band in at the neck forming a broad collar. Bands on the body about two dorsal scale width and the bands break-up towards the posterior part of the body to form reticulated pattern. Belly white lacking mottling or any marks. First two supralabials light brown with the rest predominantly white with a diffused brown patch in the center of each scale. Head shield darker than the labial scales. Three rows of scales bordering the pareital scales form the light collar band. Colouration in life more vivid and bright (Figs 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 ). The dorsum is much darker and the dorsal bands are cream coloured. The colouration has faded after preservative.
Variation.
The female BNHS 3610, agrees with the description of the male NCBS NRC-AA-0010 but differs in the attributes presented here: SVL 350 mm, TaL 78.5 mm, TL 428.5 mm, TaL/TL 0.18, V 214, Sc 66. Scale reduction from 17 DSR to 15 DSR observed at ventral 153 where scale rows 3 and 4 are involved.
Distribution.
Lycodon deccanensis is currently recorded only from the type locality, Devarayanadurga, Karnataka, India, between elevations of 1000 meters and 1190 meters. Other locality records provided by Ganesh et al. (2020a) require verification based on voucher due to the misidentification of specimens as discussed above.
Natural History.
A total of six individuals have been found, one on 14 July 2019 and the remaining five between 10 June 2020 and 25 June 2020. All individuals were found between 2000 h and 0200 h, suggesting that the species is nocturnal like other Lycodon spp. Ventral scales with angulate lateral edges assist L. deccanensis in scaling the vertical surfaces of rocks, cliffs and walls. We observed one individual two meters high climbing on a relatively smooth wall and another individual 1.5 meters high that had taken refuge in a crevice in a stone pillar. One individual, which we kept in a container overnight, fed on a Cnemaspis cf. mysoriensis that it was offered. The following species have been observed in the same microhabitat sympatrically with L. deccanensis : Cnemaspis cf. mysoriensis , Hemidactylus frenatus , H. parvimaculatus , H. whitakeri , Uperodon taprobanicus , U. variegatus , Boiga flaviviridis , Lycodon flavicollis , and L. gracilis .
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.