10 



A NEW SPECIES OF THE CROTALIDAE SNAKE FROM TIBETAN [25] 



HUANG Zheng Yi 



In May 1979, Mr. Wu Qian Hong, while working at the Xizang Normal High School, collected two 

 specimens of laotietou I^^l which belong to a new species described below: 



Xizang zhuyeqing l^'l (new species) Trimeresurus tibetanus Huang, sp. nov. (Fig. 1) t^^l 



Types: Holotype female (Faculty of Biology of the Fudan University I^^l Nr 80001, 1979-5-5, Xizang 

 Province, Nielamou District, Quekesumou 1^°', altitude 3200 m, collected by Sog Lang Jo Gar); paratype 

 male (Faculty of Biology of the Fudan University Nr 80002, collected on the same day by the same person 

 as the holotype). Deposited in the vertebrates collection of the Fudan University. 



Diagnosis: A species of the zhuyeqing group of the laotietou l^^l genus. Overall body color bright 

 green, with irregularly shaped rusty-color patches on the back, without lateral stripes. Head large, 

 triangular, very distinct from the neck. Upper-head surface covered with small scales, loreal pits present. 

 Nasal completely separated from the first supralabial by a suture, 8-9 supralabials, 9 infralabials, 23-21-17 

 dorsal scale rows, of which the 15th- 17th median rows are slightly keeled, 155 '■'•I (male) and 161 l^'l 

 (female) ventrals; tail short, 44 pairs of subcaudals. 



Description: The main measurements and scalation characters of the paratype are summarized in 

 Table 1. Dorsal parts entirely green, marked with dorsal rust-colored blotches from the neck to the tail t^^l. 

 Venter light green, ventrolateral stripe absent. Tip of tail green. The intemasals are separated by a small 

 scale, the nasal is not divided and is completely separated from the first supralabial by a suture; second 

 supralabial forming the anterior border of the loreal pit; 1 loreal l^^l between the nasal and the preocular; 

 10-11 small scales in a row between the supraoculars, 1 postocular, 1 subocular in contact with the 

 subfoveal l^"*!, the third supralabial is the largest, the fourth lies just below the eye; the first pair of 

 infralabial separated by a groove. At midbody 15-17 dorsal scale rows slightly keeled. Anal entire. 



Table 1 



(*): truncated. 



Discussion: Among the 34 known species in the Trimeresurus genus, nine species, known as 

 zhuyeqin, are entirely green, with or without ventrolateral stripes. The main features which distinguish the 

 new species from other forms are: 1) the low number of subcaudals, 44 pairs, whereas this number ranges 

 between 5 1 to 80 pairs in other species; 2) a short tail, 82 mm long, when in adults of all other known 

 species the tail is longer than 1 10 mm; 3) a relatively low number of supralabials, 8 scales on each side (the 

 8th left supralabial of the paratype is divided into two scales). The species T. medoensis Zhao and T. 

 macrolepis Beddome also have respectively 8 and 7-8 supralabials, but the new species differs clearly from 



