An inconspicuous, conspicuous new species of Asian pipesnake, genus Cylindrophis (Reptilia: Squamata: Cylindrophiidae), from the south coast of Jawa Tengah, Java, Indonesia, and an overview of the tangled taxonomic history of C. ruffus (Laurenti, 1768)

MAX KIECKBUSCH; SVEN MECKE; LUKAS HARTMANN; LISA EHRMANTRAUT; MARK O’SHEA; HINRICH KAISER

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4093.1.1

Issue: Vol. 4093 No. 1: 21 Mar. 2016

Type: Article

Published: 2016-03-20

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4093.1.1

Page range: 1–25

Abstract views: 173

PDF downloaded: 1

An inconspicuous, conspicuous new species of Asian pipesnake, genus Cylindrophis (Reptilia: Squamata: Cylindrophiidae), from the south coast of Jawa Tengah, Java, Indonesia, and an overview of the tangled taxonomic history of C. ruffus (Laurenti, 1768)

MAX KIECKBUSCH⁺⁻
SVEN MECKE⁺⁻
LUKAS HARTMANN⁺⁻
LISA EHRMANTRAUT⁺⁻
MARK O’SHEA⁺⁻
HINRICH KAISER⁺⁻

Department of Animal Evolution and Systematics and Zoological Collection Marburg, Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 8, 35032 Marburg, Germany

Faculty of Sciences and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1LY, United Kingdom; and West Midland Safari Park, Bewdley, Worcestershire DY12 1LF, United Kingdom

Department of Biology, Victor Valley College, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville, California 92395, USA; and Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA

Reptilia Cylindrophis subocularis sp. nov. C. ruffus Serpentes Cylindrophiidae Asian pipesnakes species complex morphology Central Java Indonesia Greater Sunda Islands

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Abstract

We describe a new species of Cylindrophis currently known only from Grabag, Purworejo Regency, Jawa Tengah Pro-vince (Central Java), Java, Indonesia. Cylindrophis subocularis sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners by the presence of a single, eponymous subocular scale between the 3^rd and 4^th or 4^th and 5^th supralabial, preventing contact between the 4^th or 5^th supralabial and the orbit, and by having the prefrontal in narrow contact with or separated from the orbit. We preface our description with a detailed account of the tangled taxonomic history of the similar and putatively wide-ranging species C. ruffus, which leads us to (1) remove the name Scytale scheuchzeri from the synonymy of C. ruffus, (2) list the taxon C. rufa var. javanica as species inquirenda, and (3) synonymize C. mirzae with C. ruffus. We provide additional evidence to confirm that the type locality of C. ruffus is Java. Cylindrophis subocularis sp. nov. is the second species of Asian pipesnake from Java.

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