Stegonotus nancuro KAISER, KAISER, MECKE & O’SHEA, 2021
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Stegonotus nancuro?
Stegonotus nancuro
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Stegonotus nancuro KAISER, KAISER, MECKE & O’SHEA 2021 |
| Distribution | Timor-Leste Type locality: coastal strip of land locally known as Nancuro, ca. 6.5 km south of Natarbora Village, Barique Suco, Manatuto Municipality (9.0345°S, 126.0769°E, elevation 18 m |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: USNM 580549 is an adult female (Fig. 1). The snake was spotted moving on the ground in moist coastal forest by Caitlin Sanchez, chased into a rotting tree by Sven Mecke and Hinrich Kaiser, and retrieved from the soft mulch inside the tree by Mark O’Shea on 3 July 2012; see also (Figs. 3, 4, 9 in description). Paratypes (Figs. 5–9). USNM 579383 is an adult male, collected on 22 January 2011. MCZ R-192767 is an adult male, collected on 7 August 2014. USNM 580550 is a juvenile male, collected on 3 July 2012. All paratypes were collected by Hinrich Kaiser and Mark O’Shea at the same locality as the holotype. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: In the following character list, readers may wish to refer to the illustrations of different head views in photographs and line drawings (Figs. 2, 3) for a better understanding of our descriptions. Stegonotus nancuro (maximum known SVL = 684 mm) is a medium-sized member of the genus Stegonotus with a relatively short tail (TL = 0.20% of TTL; mean SCR♂ = 0.27 ± 0.004, SCR♀ = 0.23). It can be distinguished from other species of Stegonotus by a combination of the following characters: (1) rostral extending onto the dorsal part of the head but not intruding into the internasal area, resulting in a long internasal suture (character state: gull wing +); (2) area of prefrontals 2.5 times that of the internasals, internasal suture 1⁄3–1⁄2 times the length of the prefrontal suture (mean snout-scale ratio = 0.47 ± 0.08); (3) frontal pentagonal, with usually well-formed corners and a slightly convex anterior edge; (4) AE line behind (60%) or at the same level (40%) of the anterior end of the frontal; (5) length of the frontal slightly shorter or equal to the parietal suture (mean frontal-parietal ratio = 0.90 ± 0.03); (6) prefrontal suture one-fifth the length of external skull length (mean head-scale ratio = 0.18 ± 0.02) (7) PF∠ < 90° (mean = 79 ± 5.0°); (8) LRAP directed laterally; (9) loreal two-thirds longer than wide (mean loreal scale ratio = 0.69 ± 0.02); (10) labial scale formula 73+4 | 94; (11) IL4 nearly three times as large as IL3, one-half of IL4 in contact with the anterior genial; (12) five gulars separating the posterior genial and the anteriormost ventral (Fig. 3D, D’); (13) 17-17-15 dorsals; 197–207 ventrals in males (mean = 203 ± 4), 206 ventrals in the single known female; 71–75 paired subcaudals in males (mean = 74 ± 2), 61 in the female; (14) cloacal plate entire; (15) color in life and in preservative is light brown to grayish brown dorsally with an immaculate cream-colored venter, but with non-uniform coloration on each individual dorsal scale and along the body (see “Coloration in life” below for details). The brown dorsal color extends onto the ventral side only on the mental scale and IL1–3, with coloration on other infralabial scales, if present, becoming progressively diffuse posteriorly. On the head, the darkest brown color covers SL1–2 and diminishes dorsally along the supralabial scale row. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The species name is a noun in apposition. We choose this name to recognize the beautiful area known locally as “Nancuro” on the southernmost tip of Manatuto Municipality, where most of the specimens were collected. Efforts to protect this area as the Nancuro Nature Reserve were initiated in 2011 by His Excellency José Ramos-Horta, then the President of Timor-Leste. We hope that the presence of a new and unique serpent in this area may provide a renewed motivation to set aside this area for the benefit of future generations. The term nancuro is a composite noun used in Tetum, the lingua franca of Timor-Leste, and signifies a place where fish are caught. Specifically, nan means meat or fish and curo is the process of catching something with a round net. |
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