The SHIS series publishes and distributes translations, bibliographies, indexes and similar items judged useful to individuals interested in the biology of amphibians and reptiles, but unlikely to be published in the normal technical journals. Libraries, herpetological societies and research laboratories are invited to exchange their publications with the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles. Thus, during the preparation of a monograph on the Asian pit vipers of the Trimeresurus complex (Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae), one of us (PD) had to refer.
In the first article, footnotes on pages 64 and 70 clearly indicate that the actual authors are DJAO & JIANG, and the. 8 infralabials on the left and 9 infralabials on the right, of which the first pair is in contact behind the mental, and the first three pairs are in contact with the anterior chin shields. The new species can be distinguished from the previously known forms by the following distinguishing features;
Diagnosis: The new subspecies is distinguished from other known forms of Shan laotietou I*'l by the following characters: in the new subspecies the largest supralabial is the third, while in the other subspecies it is the fourth [''''1; the number of ventral scales of the new subspecies is greater than 170, when it is less than 158 in other subspecies; the subcaudal scales are single in the new subspecies, with a few exceptions, while in other subspecies these scales are paired, only a few being single I'^l. Diagnosis: Some characters of the new species, such as 189-193 abdominal scales, 7-8 supralabials, 11-13 infralabials and some head scales are similar to those of T. A NEW SNAKE OF THE GENUS TRI^fERESURUS FROM SICHUAN, CHINA l^O) . This genus is found in the southwestern, southern, and central regions of China, and in the Indochinese part of the eastern region.
In 1992, researchers from the Fifth Laboratory of our Institute collected ten specimens of Trimeresurus at Xiangcheng in the Hengduan Mountains of western Sichuan Province.
A NEW SPECIES OF THE CROTALIDAE SNAKE FROM TIBETAN [25]
Description of the holotype: Head subtriangular, the tip of the snout narrow and rounded with a sharp canthus rostralis. 7 supralabials on each side of head, the first proportionally enlarged, completely separate from the nasal, the second smallest and in contact at the upper edge with the prefoveal; third largest, separated fi-om the eye by 1-2 minute lacrimal I'^^l; fourth supralabial relatively large, in contact with third supralabial just below eye; last three supralabials relatively low and slightly elongate. Tail laterally compressed, especially at the rear; 63 subtails, the first 62 paired, the 63rd single, their outer edge bent down to the middle of the tail; the back of the tail is covered with relatively large, regularly spaced scales in rows, the number of which gradually decreases backwards from 9 rows to 7, down to 4 rows at the end of the tail.
A group of white-tailed snakes was captured last year by the Mangshan Forestry Bureau, in the Chen Zhou region, located in Hunan province near the border between Hunan and Guangdong. According to the famous snake specialist ZHAO Er Mi, consultant to the Chinese Snake Society and Vice-President of the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Academia Sinica, they belong to a species that has not yet been described by Chinaorngabroad, and officially named Mangshan laotietou[ '''1. These white-tailed snakes were captured in the second half of September 1989 by the Mangshan Forestry Bureau.
It is a new species of snake added to our country's herpetological fauna, which does not occur anywhere else either in China or abroad, so it is a precious species. Prof ZHAO Er Mi calls on the relevant authorities to apply protective measures to the Mangshan Special Natural Area. The author of this article discovered while preparing the chapter on snakes in the Encyclopedia of ChineseAnimals for the National Foundation of Natural Sciences under the Eighth Five-Year Plan that some populations of Xenopeltis hainanensis, Psammodynastes pulverulentus, Ovophis monticola and Trimerinegeriste are different.
The scale bordering the lower border of the pit is a subfoveal, but since, in the case of pits of the Trimeresurus complex, it also borders the anterior border of the eyes, it is often considered the inferior preocular. The foveal is usually fused with the second supralabial in the Asian pitviper genus and is not considered by itself. 6]: A species of Trimeresurus endemic to the hills of South India and not related to the T group.
The head scaling in this species is atypical in the genus in the much enlarged head. 30]: The type locality is given in the English summary as "Naylam, Chokesumo"; we recommend the pinyin transcription of the names in the Chinese text. 52]: The literal translation of the Chinese title should read "Subdivision of some Chinese snake species".
The coloration of the head is similar to the nominal species." Other meristic data on this subspecies are as follows (ZHAO, personal communication, based on six specimens): subtails. CEN Jian Qiang of the Shanghai Natural History Museum, we examined seven preserved specimens of Trimeresurus stejnegeri from Hainan Island.
A KEY TO THE TRIMERESURUS-COMPLEX IN CHINA AND ADJACENT AREAS
Movable fangs jaws; loreal pits present, upper surface of head covered with small, irregular shields: Trimeresurus-coxrvp\Qx. 8A Hemipenis short, rounded, spinose; Oftail base greatly enlarged to about 15-20 sub-controls in male; Iris Reddishinmales; Temporals usually Sysmooth; canthusrostralis moderate 9. 8b hemipenis long, thin, without spines; Oftail base moderately enlarged to 20-25 sub-controls in male; iris yellow or golden in both sexes; temporals more or less keeled; Sharp Canthus rostralis T.Popeiorum Popeiorum 9A Ventrals 154-170inmales and 154-172infemales; mainland China and Taiwan.
IIB Body rather short and strong; short head with a rounded snout; dorsal pattern made of dorsolateral dark blotches, usually darker or lighter with dark edges, joined at vertebral line. 12A 2 successive, small, rectangular loreals between nasal preoculus and high preoculus; 10 or more cephalic scales in a row between supraocular eyes; dorsal color gray or light brown; model. 13A Usually more than 195 ventral and more than 75 subcaudal; 9-12 supralabials; 25-31 (rarely 23-33) rows of dorsal scales at midbody; usually 13-16 (rarely 11-18) scales in a row between supraocular eyes; 2 or 3 scale rows between supralabials and subocular; pattern consisting mainly of irregular T-shaped spots.
14A second supralabial height, adjacent to the front of the loreal pit; pattern not made of irregular. 14B 2nd supralabial layer, not adjacent to the anterior of the loreal pit; dorsal pattern made of. 15A 21 (very rarely 19, rarely 23) dorsal scale rows midbody; less than 195 abs; intemasal very large; 4th supralabial, almost as large as the 3rd; two different patterns: either dull green above, with large, oval, reddish, black-edged dorsal spots, or almost entirely blackish, heavily speckled.
15B 25 dorsal scale rows at midbody; 200 or more ventral; intemasals very large; 4th supralabial smaller than the 3rd dorsal surfaces dull gray-green in life or preservative, with blackish, rhombohedral dorsal spots separate or united to each other; minor stains on the sides;. 18A More than 160 ventral; 10 supralabials, the 3rd the largest; 2. supralabial ridge, bordering the anterior side of the loreal cavity; 3-5 scales on the surface of the nose between a line connecting the front edge of the eyes and the intestines; Xizang Province O. 183 Less than 140 ventral; 8-10 supralabials, the 4th the largest; 2. supralabial borders the anterior side of the loreal pit or not; 5-7 scales on the upper surface of the snout between a line connecting the anterior edge of the eyes and the intestines; Vietnam and Hainan Island.
19A 4th (sometimes 5th) largest supralabials 20. ventrals; total number of ventrals plus subcaudals 169 to 204 21. 20B 8-9 supralabials; intemasals separated by 2 small scales; 159 or more ventrals; total number of ventricles plus subcaudals 215 to 225; westernYunnan O. total number of subcaudals ventralsplus 169 to 193; Mainland China.. supralabials; Himalayas east to west of Yunan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar. Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, for their careful reading of the manuscript and their helpful corrections and suggestions. Cen Jian Qiang, Shanghai Natural History Museum, for his help in examining preserved specimens and his friendly assistance.
The cover artwork was kindly provided by Miss Agathe Ravet, of the National Museum of Natural History, Paris. Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, including the whole of the Indo-Chinese sub-region.
