A new species of green pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacepede, 1804 (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae) from western Arunachal Pradesh, India
Title | A new species of green pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacepede, 1804 (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae) from western Arunachal Pradesh, India |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2020 |
Authors | Mirza ZA, Bhosale HS, Phansalkar PU, Sawant M, Gowande GG, Patel H |
Journal | ZOOSYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION |
Volume | 96 |
Issue | 1 |
Pagination | 123-138 |
Date Published | 04/2020 |
Abstract | A new species of green pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacepede, 1804 is described from the lowlands of western Arunachal Pradesh state of India. The new species, Trimeresurus salazar, is a member of the subgenus Trimeresurus, a relationship deduced contingent on two mitochondrial genes, I 6S and ND4, and recovered as sister to Trimeresurus septentrionalis Kramer, 1977. The new species differs from the latter in bearing an orange to reddish stripe running from the lower border of the eye to the posterior part of the head in males, higher number of ptelygoid and dentary teeth, and a short, bilobed hemipenis. Description of the new species and T. arunachalensis Captain, Deepak, Pandit, Bhatt & Athreya, 2019 from northeastern India in a span of less than one year highlights the need for dedicated surveys to document biodiversity across northeastern India. |
DOI | 10.3897/zse.96.48431 |