First report of albinism for Achalinus sheni (Serpentes, Xenodermidae), with extended diagnosis of the species

By

Xu, Yuhao
Wang, Shuai
Ma, Shun
Burbrink, Frank
Peng, Lifang
Huang, Song

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1209

Pages

1--17

Subjects

Hunan Province , morphological characters , Phylogeny , Shen’s Odd-scale Snake , Xenodermidae

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1209.128944

 

Abstract

Albinism is an uncommon phenomenon and inherited condition in animals characterized by a partial or complete lack of melanin. The family Xenodermidae Gray, 1849, is a group of caenophidian snakes widely distributed in South, East, and Southeast Asia, including five recognized genera and 36 species. However, there are currently no reports of albinism in any species in Xenodermidae. Achalinus sheni Ma, Xu, Qi, Wang, Tang, Huang & Jiang, 2023 was first described based on five male specimens from Loudi City and Nanyue District, Hunan Province, China. At the time, there were no descriptions on female individuals. In this study, we report in detail a collected albinistic specimen of A. sheni, which is the first discovery of wild albinism in the family Xenodermidae. We also provide photographs and descriptions of the first three female specimens of A. sheni and extend the diagnosis of this species.