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Issue: Vol. 5357 No. 4: 20 Oct. 2023
Type: Article
Published: 2023-10-20
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5357.4.3
Page range: 515-554
Abstract views: 2359
PDF downloaded: 34

A new green pitviper of the Trimeresurus albolabris complex (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae) from central and southern Myanmar

Society for South East Asian Herpetology; Im Sand-3; Heidelberg; Germany
Institute for Research and Training in Medicine; Biology and Pharmacy; Duy Tan University; Da Nang; 550000; Vietnam; College of Medicine and Pharmacy; Duy Tan University; 120 Hoang Minh Thao; Lien Chieu; Da Nang; 550000; Vietnam
Institut de Systématique; Évolution et Biodiversité (ISYEB); Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle; Sorbonne Université; École Pratique des Hautes Études; Université des Antilles; CNRS; CP 30; 57 rue Cuvier; F-75005 Paris; France
Reptilia Crotalinae new species morphology Indo-Burma region Trimeresurus septentrionalis

Abstract

In the frame of our investigations on the systematics of the complex of species of Trimeresurus albolabris, we came across specimens from Myanmar variously referred to as Trimeresurus albolabris Gray, 1842 or T. septentrionalis Kramer, 1977 in the literature. We describe a new species of green pitviper of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 from central and southern Myanmar based on molecular analyses drawn from previously published phylogenies and new morphological data. This new species, Trimeresurus uetzi sp. nov., is broadly similar to both Trimeresurus albolabris and T. septentrionalis, but it differs from these latter species by a series of morphological characters such as presence of white pre- and postocular streaks in male, iris copper in male or green gold in female, more ventral plates, and a much shorter hemipenis. We compare this new species with Trimeresurus albolabris as currently defined and other species of this complex. We also emphasize the need for additional integrated studies on Trimeresurus albolabris sensu lato populations distributed in southern Indochina and Sundaland.

 

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