A New Species of the Genus Thermophis(Serpentes: Colubridae) from Shangri-La, Northern Yunnan, China, with a Proposal for an Eclectic Rule for Species Delimitation

The hot-spring snakes, Thermophis, were previously known only from the Tibet Autonomous Region and Western Sichuan, China. During the past two years, three adult hot-spring snakes(2 females, 1 male) were sampled in Shangri-La, northern Yunnan, China, thus expanding their known distribution region towards the southeast. This site is the southeastern-most corner of the Tibetan Plateau and the southernmost tip of the Hengduan Mountains(Mts.). Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial(mt) and nuclear(n) DNA segments suggested that the three specimens belong to the genus of Thermophis. Morphologically, the new species is more similar to T. zhaoermii. However, it is distinguished from T. zhaoermii in the number of maxillary teeth(15), distance between the two eyes/head width, rostral width/height, mental width/height, in one character limited to female: head width/length, and in four characters restricted to male: occurrence of the reduction from 10 to 8(8 to 6, 6 to 4) scales in each dorsal row on the tail. There are differences in morphology, genetics(mt DNA, n DNA), and geography between the putative new species and T. zhaoermii, the new species meets our proposed eclectic and feasible "four-differences" rule.

A New Species of the Genus Achalinus from Huangshan, Anhui, China(Squamata: Xenodermidae)

A new species of the genus Achalinus is described based on five specimens collected from the villages of Huangjialing and Fuxi, Huangshan, Anhui, China. It can be morphologically differentia ted from all the other species in Achalinus except for A. spinalis and A. werneri by the presence of a dotted black streak in the middle of the subcaudal. It can be distinguished from A. spinalis in that its two anterior temporals are in contact with eye, and A. werneri by its light brown flanks. The phylogenetic rela tionship of Achalinus was reconstructed using the mitochondrial locus of cytochrome coxidase subunit 1(CO1). The five new specimens form a monophyletic clade with strong support. The uncorrected p-dista nces between the new species and other representatives of Achalinus range from 13.6% to 21.7%. The recognition of the new species increases the number of described Achalinus species to 14.

A New Species of the Genus Sinomicrurus Slowinski,Boundy and Lawson,2001 (Squamata:Elapidae) from Hainan Province,China

A new species of the coral snake genus Sinomicrurus is described based on four specimens from southern Hainan Island(three specimens from Tianchi,Jianfengling National Nature Reserve,one specimen from Diaoluoshan National Nature Reserve),Hainan Province,China.Morphologically,the new species is rather similar to Sinomicrurus kelloggi.However,it is distinct from S.kelloggi by the pattern on the head,the head length,head length/width,the number of infralabial scales,number of bands on dorsal body,and number of blotches on the belly.

Intraspecific Polymorphism of Rice Frog,Fejervarya multistriata(Anura: Ranidae),in Lingnan,Huangshan,China

Many anuran species exhibit striking color and/or pattern polymorphisms.We sampled 599 adult rice frogs,Fejervarya multistriata,from a rice paddy in the periphery of the Lingnan Nature Reserve(Huangshan,Anhui).We recognized ten morphs based on three relatively stable and distinct morphological characters: dorsal ground color(green or gray),middorsal stripe(absence,wide,or narrow),occipital rusty spot(absence or presence).The grey individuals are more common and larger than the green individuals(frequency 88.1 vs.11.9%,respectively) and(SVL 39.4–36.6 vs.35.7–34.6 mm,respectively).There is a higher proportion of individuals with a middorsal stripe(59.7%) while absence of the occipital rusty spot is more common in the population(82.3%).We expect additional studies in different habitat types would help build our understanding of the relationship between color polymorphism and habitat,geography,and climate.