Wednesday, September 9, 2015

[Herpetology • 2015] Rabdion grovesi • A Second Species of the Genus Rabdion Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 (Colubridae: Calamariinae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia


Rabdion grovesi 
Amarasinghe, Vogel, McGuire, Sidik, Supriatna & Ineich, 2015
FIG. 1.— Dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views of the adult male holotype of Rabdion grovesi sp. nov. (MZB 2679) photographed in life at the collection locality.
FIG. 2.—An adult Rabdion forsteni (RMB 2532) photographed in life in the Province of South Sulawesi, Indonesia.  DOI: 10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-14-00058

Abstract
We describe a new species of the genus Rabdion based on morphological evidence. The new species, Rabdion grovesi sp. nov., is restricted to South Sulawesi, whereas Rabdion forsteni is widely distributed on the rest of Sulawesi (Indonesia). Rabdion grovesi sp. nov. differs from R. forsteni by having a broader, shallower, and rounded rostral (vs. narrow, deep, and pointed); nasal touched by first and second supralabials (vs. first only); temporals 1 + 2 (vs. 1 + 3); 192 ventrals (vs. 130–157 in males and 152–160 in females); elongate (vs. shorter) dorsal scales; and a bluish gray dorsum (vs. grayish brown) in preservative. Finally, we provide a complete redescription for R. forsteni based on the subadult female syntype, MNHN 7210.

 Keywords: Pointed Snakes, Rabdion forsteni, Redescription, Taxonomy


FIG. 1.— Dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views of the adult male holotype of Rabdion grovesi sp. nov. (MZB 2679) photographed in life at the collection locality. 

A. A. Thasun Amarasinghe, Gernot Vogel, Jimmy McGuire, Irvan Sidik, Jatna Supriatna and Ivan Ineich. 2015. Description of A Second Species of the Genus Rabdion Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 (Colubridae: Calamariinae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Herpetologica. 71(3):234-239. DOI: 10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-14-00058