Abstract
We describe two new species of green pitviper from Southeast Asia that are morphologically similar to Cryptelytrops macrops, but can be distinguished from that species by genetic means, multivariate analysis of morphology and some aspects of coloration. Cryptelytrops cardamomensis sp. nov., is described from southeastern Thailand and the Cardamom Mountains of southwestern Cambodia. Cryptelytrops rubeus sp. nov. has been recorded from southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia. These species have previously been confused with C. macrops, hence we also present here a redescription of this species, whose range is now restricted to Thailand, southern and central Laos, and northeastern Cambodia. All three species are present in Cambodia, but have disjunct ranges corresponding to three separate highland regions in southwestern (Cardamom Mountains), northeastern (western edge of the Kontum Plateau) and eastern (low elevation hills on the western edge of the Langbian Plateau) Cambodia for C. cardamomensis, C. macrops and C. rubeus respectively. However, there is still considerable morphological variation between geographically separated populations of C. macrops s.s., and greater sampling in southern and northern Thailand in particular may be required before the species diversity of this group is fully clarified.References
David, P., Vogel, G., Vijayakumar, S.P. & Vidal, N. (2006) A revision of the Trimeresurus puniceus-complex (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) based on morphological and molecular data. Zootaxa, 1293, 1–78.
Dowling, H.G. (1951) A proposed system for counting ventrals in snakes. British Journal of Herpetology, 1, 97-–99.
Grismer, L.L, Chav, T., Neang, T., Wood Jr, P.L., Grismer, J.L., Youmans, T.M., Ponce1, A., Daltry, J.C. & Kaiser, H. (2007) The herpetofauna of the Phnom Aural Wildlife Sanctuary and checklist of the herpetofauna of the Cardamom mountains, Cambodia. Hamadryad, 31, 216–241.
Grismer, L.L, Neang, T., Chav, T. & Grismer, J.L. (2008a) Checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of the Cardamom region of southwestern Cambodia. Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 2008, 12–28.
Grismer, L.L., Neang, T., Chav, T., Wood Jr, P.L., Oaks, J.R., Holden, J., Grismer, J.L., Szutz, T.R. & Youmans, T.M. (2008b) Additional amphibians and reptiles from the Phnom Samkos wildlife sanctuary northwestern Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia, with comments on their taxonomy and the discovery of three new species. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 56, 161–175.
Grismer, L.L, Ngo, V.T. & Grismer, J.L. (2008c) A new species of insular pitviper of the genus Cryptelytrops (Squamata: Viperidae) from southern Vietnam. Zootaxa, 1715, 57–68.
Grismer, L.L, Sumontha, M., Cota, M., Grismer, J.L., Wood, P.L., Pauwels, O.S.G. & Kunya, K. (2010) A revision and redescription of the rock gecko Cnemaspis siamensis (Taylor 1925) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Peninsular Thailand with descriptions of seven new species. Zootaxa, 2576, 1–55.
Gumprecht, A. (1998) Die Bambusottern der Gattung Trimeresurus Lacépède. Teil II: Die Grossaugen-bambusotter Trimeresurus macrops Kramer, 1977. Sauria, 20, 25–36.
Gumprecht, A., Tillack, F., Orlov, N.L., Captain, A. & Ryabov, S. (2004) Asian Pitvipers. GeitjeBooks, Berlin, 368 pp.
Kramer, E. (1977) Zur Sclangenfauna von Nepal. Rev. Suisse Zoologie, 84, 721–761.
Malhotra, A. & Thorpe, R.S. (2004a) A phylogeny of four mitochondrial gene regions suggests a revised taxonomy for Asian pit vipers Trimeresurus and Ovophis. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 32, 83–100.
Malhotra, A. & Thorpe, R.S. (2004b) Maximising information in systematic revisions: a combined molecular and morphological analysis of a cryptic green pitviper complex (Trimeresurus stejnegeri). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 82, 219–235.
Ohler, A., Swan, S.R. & Daltry, J.C. (2002) A recent survey of the amphibian fauna of the Cardamom mountains, southwest Cambodia, with descriptions of three new species. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 50, 465–481.
Orlov, N., Ananjeva, N., Barabanov, A., Ryabov, S. & Khalikov, R. (2002a) Diversity of vipers Azemiopinae, Crotalinae in East, Southeast, and South Asia: Annotated checklist and natural history data. Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes: Viperidae. Faunistische Abhandlungen des Staatlichen Museums für Tierkunde Dresden, 23, 177–218.
Orlov, N., Ananjeva, N. & Khalikov, R. (2002b) Natural History of pitvipers in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. In: Schuett, G.W., Höggren, M., Douglas, M.E. & Greene, H.W. (Eds.), Biology of the vipers. Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain, Utah, pp 345–360.
Regenass, U. & Kramer, E. (1981) Zur Systematik der grunen Grubenottern der Gattung Trimeresurus Serpentes, Crotalidae. Revue Suisse Zoologie, 88, 163–205.
Sanders, K.L., Malhotra, A. & Thorpe, R.S. (2006) Combining molecular, morphological and ecological data to infer species boundaries in a cryptic tropical pitviper. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 87, 343–364.
Stuart, B.L. (1999) Amphibians and reptiles. In: Duckworth, J.W., Salter, R.E., Khounboline, K. (Eds.), Wildlife in Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report. IUCN–The World Conservation Union / Wildlife Conservation Society / Centre for Protected Areas and Watershed Management, Vientiane, Laos, pp 43–67.
Stuart, B.L. & Emmett, D.A. (2006) A collection of amphibians and reptiles from the Cardamom Mountains, southwestern Cambodia. Fieldiana, New Series, 109, 1–27.
Stuart, B.L., Sok, K. & Neang, T. (2006a) A collection of amphibians and reptiles from hilly eastern Cambodia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 54, 129–155.
Stuart, B.L., Inger, R.F. & Voris, H.K. (2006b) High levels of cryptic species diversity revealed by sympatric lineages of Southeast Asian forest frogs. Biology Letters, 2, 470–474.
Stuart, B.L., Rowley, J.J.L., Neang, T., Emmett, D.A. & Sitha, S. (2010) A collection of amphibians and reptiles from hilly eastern Cambodia. Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 2010, 38–47.
Teynié, A., David, P., Ohler, A. & Luanglath, K. (2004) Notes on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from southern Laos, with a discussion of the occurrence of Indo–Malayan species. Hamadryad, 29, 33–62.
Thorpe, R.S. (1975) Quantitative handling of characters useful in snake systematics with particular reference to intraspecific variation in the ringed snake Natrix natrix (L.). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 7, 27–43.
Thorpe, R.S. (1976) Biometric analysis of geographic variation and racial affinities. Biological Review, 51, 407–452.
Thorpe, R.S. (1983) A review of the numerical methods for recognising and analyzing racial differentiation. In: Felsenstein, J. (Ed.). Numerical Taxonomy: Proceedings of a NATO Advanced Studies Institute. NATO ASI Series, Vol. G1, Berlin, pp 404–423.
Viravan, C., Looareesuwan, S., Kosakarn, W., Wuthiekanun, V., McCarthy, C.J., Stimson, A.F., Bunnag, D., Harinasuta, T. & Warrell, D.A. (1992) A national hospital-based survey of snakes responsible for bites in Thailand. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 86, 100–106.
Wood Jr., P.L., Grismer, L.L., Grismer, J.L., Neang, T., Chav, T. & Holden, J. (2010) A new cryptic species of Acanthosaura Gray, 1831 (Squamata: Agamidae) from Thailand and Cambodia. Zootaxa, 2488, 22–38.