Hebius annamensis (BOURRET, 1934)
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Hebius annamensis
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Annam Keelback |
| Synonym | Parahelicops annamensis BOURRET 1934 Opisthotropis annamensis — SMITH 1943: 334 Parahelicops annamensis —TAYLOR & ELBEL 1958 Parahelicops annamensis — ORLOV et al. 2003 Parahelicops annamensis — ZIEGLER et al. 2008 Amphiesma annamense — TEYNIÉ et al. 2013: 178 (in error) Parahelicops annamensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 531 Hebius annamensis — KIZIRIAN et al. 2018 Hebius annamensis — DAVID et al. 2021 |
| Distribution | Vietnam (Ha Tinh; Kon Tum; Quang Binh; Quang Tri; Thua Thien-Hue), SE Laos (Champasak; Xékong) Type locality: Bana, Annam, Vietnam [= Ba Na Nature Reserve, Da Nang City, Vietnam], 1500 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 1938.0117, adult male; collected by René Bourret, 1 Jan. 1929 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus Parahelicops). A genus of medium-sized snakes of the family Natricidae characterized by (1) body elongate, (2) head moderately distinct from the neck, (3) eye moderate in size with a round pupil, (4) maxillary teeth progressively increasing in size in a continuous series, last 2 moderately enlarged, not separated from anterior teeth by a diastema, (5) nostrils piercing distinctly dorsolaterally, (6) upper head scales complete as for typical colubroids but prefrontal single in most specimens, (7) internasals distinctly narrowed anteriorly, (8) all SL distinctly longer than high, (9) dorsal scales in 15 or 17 rows at midbody, moderately keeled at midbody, strongly keeled posteriorly, especially before vent, (10) caudal scales around the base of the tail very strongly keeled, (11) more than 110 SC, paired, (12) hemipenes short, thin, single, and spinose. Although Parahelicops annamensis usually has a single prefrontal, as in most species of Opisthotropis, it differs from this latter genus, as defined above, by (1) maxillary teeth enlarged vs. subequal teeth in Opisthotropis, (2) tail long vs. rather short or average in Opisthotropis (see the descriptions), (3) head moderately distinct from the neck vs. barely distinct in Opisthotropis, (4) eye large vs. small in Opisthotropis, (5) nostrils directed dorsolaterally vs. directed upwards in Opisthotropis, (6) SL much longer than high vs. distinctly higher than long in Opisthotropis, and (7) dorsal pattern with two rows of large rusty blotches, vs. more or less uniform, or with crossbars in species of Opisthotropis [DAVID et al. 2015]. |
| Comment | P. annamensis differs from all species of Opisthotropis by its enlarged posterior maxillary teeth and its supralabials much longer than high. Its position is currently under investigation (David et al. in prep.). Type species: Parahelicops annamensis BOURRET 1934 is the type species of the genus Parahelicops BOURRET 1934. Comparisons (genera): Ren et al. 2019: 121 (Table 6) provide a morphological comparison of natricine genera (Opisthotropis, Paratapinophis, Isanophis, Trimerodytes balteatus, Hebius annamensis, Trachischium fuscum/guentheri, Rhabdops bicolor, Atretium yunnanensis, Pseudagkistrodon rudis multiprefrontalis). Synonymy: Kizirian et al. 2018 synonymized Parahelicops with Hebius. Abundance: rare. For a long time, this species has been known from only the holotype collected in central Vietnam. The second known specimen, and first recorded from Laos, was described by Stuart (2006). Subsequently, more specimens became available, especially from central Vietnam. |
| Etymology | The species name annamensis is derived from "Annam," the name given to the French protectorate in central Vietnam, prior to that country's independence, where the holotype was collected. |
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