Naja tripudians subsp. sondaica S. Muller & Schlegel 1844

Designation of a lectotype for Naja tripudians sondaica Lectotype. If a syntype from Sumatra were to be designated as lectotype for N. t. sondaica, this would destabilize current nomenclature because in that case Naja sondaica Schlegel, 1844 would have nomenclatural priority over Naja sumatrana F. Müller, 1887, a well-established name that has been widely used ever since the original description. In order to stabilize the nomenclature and maintain current usage, we here designate RMNH.RENA.1330 (Figs. 5A and 5B, 6), originally registered as Naja sputatrix and confirmed by us as a member of that species, as the lectotype for Naja tripudians sondaica Schlegel, 1844. The specimen is an unsexed adult in a good state of preservation, collected by Reinwardt on Java around 1820. Morphology. Body round and long (SVL 1200 mm, TaL 182 mm, TTL 1382 mm, TaL/SVL = 0.152, TaL/TTL = 0.132). Head oval in dorsal view, elongate, slightly distinct from the neck, snout elongate, flattened, and rounded when seen from above. Eye large; pupil round. Body scalation. 24 scale rows around the neck; dorsal scales smooth in 19 rows at midbody; 183 V, including two anterior ventral scales (preventrals); cloacal plate single; 46 paired SC. Head scalation. Rostral visible from above, broader than deep; internasals as large as prefontals; parietals nearly twice the size of prefrontals; preocular separated from internasal by a small accessory scale on each side (see Wüster, 1996b); nostril between two nasals; posterior nasal in contact with the first, second and third supralabial; one preocular and three postoculars, the lowest postocular in contact with the fourth and fifth supralabials; seven supralabials, third and fourth in contact with the eye; two large lower temporals and two upper temporals; eight infralabials, first three in contact with large anterior genials (chin shields), the large fifth excluded from contact with the edge of the mouth by two small cuneate scales (see Wüster, 1998, for discussion); posterior genials in contact with first anterior ventral scale (preventral). Colouration in preservative. Colour brown above; head light brown, tail somewhat darker than body colouration; no marking on the hood; below light brown with some speckles. Additional types. The remaining specimens of the original type series become paralectotypes (RMNH. RENA.1313, 1331, 1340) and have no name-bearing function. Through our lectotype designation, the type locality of N. t. sondaica is fixed as Java and the species becomes a junior subjective synonym of Naja sputatrix Boie, 1827. Should any future study result in a split of N. sputatrix into several taxa, the species group nomen sondaica needs to be taken into account for reasons of priority. Remark. Hamidy (2005) reported on the head scalation in Naja sputatrix and concluded that the presence (or absence) of an accessory scale separating preocular and internasal did not constitute a constant character within the range of the species. This character is primarily found in specimens from West Java, corroborating the Javan origin of the lectotype designated here.