A new long-snouted vine snake species in the genus Ahaetulla Link, 1807 (Colubridae: Chrysopeleinae) from India
A new species of long-snouted arboreal snake of the genus Ahaetulla Link, 1807, is described from the Indian states of Bihar and Meghalaya. Molecular phylogenetic analysis using three mitochondrial genes recovered the new species as a member of the A. fusca clade and as a sister species to A. laudankia. The new species differs from its congeners in bearing an elongate rostral appendage, green or ochre dorsum, orange-brown belly, and moderately keeled vertebral dorsal scale row. This description of a new reptile species highlights the need for systematic documentation of biodiversity in the region.
Authors
- Sourabh Verma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8321-7368)
- Pratyush P. Mohapatra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8966-297X)
- Soham Pattekar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3600-1657)
- Harshil Patel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4679-5211)
- Zeeshan A. Mirza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1685-9816)
- Jayaditya Purkayastha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3236-156X)
- Bryan L. Stuart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4719-1951)
Institutions
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- African Wildlife Foundation (US)
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (US)
- WWF-India (IN)
- Zoological Survey of India (IN)
- Max Planck Institute for Biology (DE)
- Banaras Hindu University (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity
- Published
- 2024-08-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2024.04.017
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Amphibian and Reptile Biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.28