Oligodon ornatus Van Denburgh 1909

Oligodon ornatus Van Denburgh, 1909 Figs 5, 6, 7, 8, Suppl. material 1: table S 4 Vernacular name. Ornate Kukri Snake / 饰纹小头蛇 (Pinyin: Shi ̀ We ́ n Xia ̌ o To ́ u She ́) Synonymy. Holarchus torquatus konishii – Oshima (1910): 196–197. Simotes musyi – Roux (1919): 62–63. Holarchus ornatus musyi – Mell (1931): 211. Type material. Holotype. • CAS 18005 (adult male), collected on 7 March 1909 by V. Kühne [J. C. Thompson]. Type locality: “ Shinchiku, Formosa ” [= Hsinchu City, Taiwan Province, China]. Specimens examined (N = 11). China. Anhui Province. • QHU R 2024047 (Field NO. LFR 2024097; adult male), a road killed specimen from Xuanzhou District, Xuancheng Prefecture (30.7063°N, 118.7915°E; 209 m asl.) collected by Y. H. Xu. Fujian Province. • CIB 9968 (juvenile), • CIB 9969 and • CIB 78058 (two adult males), • CIB 9970 (adult female), and • ANU ZR 25014 (adult male), all from Wuyishan (formerly “ Ch’ungan Hsien ”), Nanping Prefecture (approx. 27.756°N, 118.035°E), no other collection data available; • NHMB unnumbered (adult male), holotype of Simotes musyi, from Wuyishan (formerly “ Ch’ungan Hsien ”), Nanping Prefecture (approx. 27.756°N, 118.035°E) donated by M. Musy, date unknown. Jiangxi Province. • SYS r 001297 (adult male) from Jinggangshan National Nature Reserve, Jinggangshan City, Ji’an Prefecture (approx. 26.759°N, 114.274°E), collected on 30 July 2015 by the team of Yingyong Wang. Hunan Province. • CIB - CAS 102876 (adult male), from Yizhang County, Chenzhou City (approx. 24.966°N, 112.851°E). Taiwan Province. • UMMZ 182640 (adult male) from “ Nan-Tou, Chi-Tou ” [= Xitou Nature Education Area, Nantou County] (approx. 23.674778°N, 120.796833°E) collected 20 May 1983; • ZMMU Re-14581, from Beiheng Road, Mingchi Forest Area, Fuxing District (approx. 24.644°N, 121.462°E). Other reported specimens (N = 15). China. Fujian Province. • FMNH 24963, • FMNH 24964, • FMNH 24965, • AMNH R-33756, • AMNH R-33757, • AMNH R-33592, • AMNH R-33593, • AMNH R-33594, • AMNH R-33595, all from Guadun Village, Wuyishan NP, Nanping Prefecture (formerly “ Kuatun Village ”) (27.735229°N, 117.641156°E), no other data available, reported by Pope (1929) and Pope (1935). Guangdong Province. • KIZ YPX 23180 from Nanling National Forest Park (approx. 24.913°N, 113.083°E) and KIZ YPX 9837 from Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, Shaoguan City (approx. 24.913°N, 113.082°E); no other data available, reported by Wu et al. (2023); unnumbered specimen also from Nanling National Forest Park (approx. 24.913°N, 113.083°E); no other data available, reported by Gong and He (2008). Hunan Province. • HNNU 59-14 (adult female), from Jiangyong County, Yongzhou City (approx. 25.274°N, 115.344°E); • HNNU 59-46 (adult female), from Cili County, Zhangjiajie City (approx. 29.431°N, 111.139°E); and • HNNU 810705 (adult female), from Zhangjiajie City (approx. 29.120°N, 110.485°E), no other data available, reported by Shen et al. (2014). Taiwan Province. • NTUM 84, the holotype of Holarchus torquatus konishii, from New Taipei City, Shenkeng (approx. 25.003°N, 121.617°E), no other data available, reported by Oshima (1910). Literature data from reported specimens are mentioned in the description. For electronic records, refer to Suppl. material 1. Revised diagnosis. A medium-sized Oligodon, tail moderately long (TailLR 0.119–0.163; in males 0.145–0.163; in females 0.119–0.128). Dorsal scales in 15–15 – 15 rows, all smooth, no reductions. Ventral scales 160–185, no dimorphism (160–173 in males and 171–185 in females), no keeling. Cloacal plate divided. Subcaudals 31–43 (34–43 in males, 31–35 in females), paired. Total body scales 199–221 (199–217 in males, 203–221 in females). Subcaudal ratio 0.153–0.205, no (in males 0.171–0.205, in females 0.153–0.158). Maxillary teeth 7–8, posterior three teeth slightly enlarged and blade-like. Internasals present. Loreal absent, preocular 1, presubocular absent, postoculars 2, temporals 2 + 2 (rarely 2 + 1, 1 + 2, or 1 + 1). Temporolabial scale present (rarely fused). Supralabials 6 (rarely 5), 3 rd – 4 th in contact with the eye (rarely 2 nd – 3 rd in contact). Infralabials 6 (rarely 7), first 1–4 in contact with anterior chin shields. Dorsal surface light brown or grayish brown with a broad brown paravertebral stripe and a narrower lateral stripe on either side of body, both extending from nape to tail. Middorsal line between paravertebral stripes, same color as remaining body. A total of 10–12 irregular dorsal bands present (8–10 on body, and 1–3 on tail), some specimens exhibiting secondary bands or spots concentrated along the middorsal or paravertebral regions. Median portions of each band brown, edges normally dark brown or black. Head markings include ocular bar, temporal bar, and nuchal chevron. Ventral surface white with lateral series of black alternating rectangular blotches on ventral scales and a broad red midventral stripe in life. Hemipenis unilobed, simple sulcus spermaticus, spines uniformly sized, absent on basal one-eighth of organ and parts of apical surface. Description and variation. Oligodon ornatus was previously considered to be widely distributed across numerous provinces in eastern China, including Anhui, Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang, and Taiwan Island (Van Denburgh 1909; Pope 1935; Chen 1991; Zhao et al. 1998; Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden 2001; Zhao 2006; Gong and He 2008; Shen et al. 2014). However, many of these records represent misidentifications, especially those from Guangxi, Sichuan, Hainan, and parts of Hunan. Although specimens reported by Pope (1935) and Zhao et al. (1998) were all collected from Fujian Province, neither study provided detailed morphological data for each specimen, making detailed comparisons impossible. Furthermore, Zhao (2006) offered a general description of the species, but many records included in that study are likely inaccurate. Therefore, the redescription of O. ornatus in the present study is based only on examined material (N = 11), the original description (Van Denburgh 1909) (N = 1), and literature that includes specific specimen information and diagnostic characters (Gong and He 2008) (N = 1). The main morphological characters of the specimens used in this study are listed in Suppl. material 1: table S 4. Body slender, subcylindrical. Head oblong, slightly distinct from neck. Snout elongate, narrowing in width in dorsal profile, slightly truncate in lateral profile. Eyes moderate relative to head, pupil round. Nostrils small, subelliptical, pointed laterally. Tail moderate, tapering gradually to sharp pointed tip. Adult SVL 292–559 mm, TailL 51–95 mm, TotalL 343–654 mm (N = 10). One immature specimen (CIB 9968) measured 147 mm SVL, 25 mm TailL (TotalL 172 mm). The largest specimen an adult male (CIB 78058) measuring 559 mm SVL and 95 mm TailL. Largest female (uncataloged specimen fide. Gong and He (2008) measured 458 mm SVL, 67 mm TailL. Head measurements (N = 8 unless noted otherwise): HeadL 9.2–18.4 mm, HeadW 5.8–13.6 mm, SnoutL 2.9–5.6 mm, EyeD 1.5–3.0 mm, FrontalL 2.8–6.1 mm, FrontalW 2.3–5.2 mm, IOD 3.2–7.8 mm, IND 3.0– 5.3 mm. TailLR 0.119 –0.163 (0.145 ± 0.013; N = 10), in males 0.145 –0.163 (x ̅ = 0.151 ± 0.007; N = 8), in females 0.119 –0.128 (x ̅ = 0.123 ± 0.006; N = 2). Slight sexual dimorphism present (Student’s t-test P = 0.04887). Head measurement ratios (all N = 8): HeadW / HeadL 0.52–0.74, SnoutL / HeadL 0.26–0.35, EyeD / SnoutL 0.43–0.57, EyeD / HeadL 0.13–0.17, FrontalL / FrontalW 1.09–1.33. Body scalation. Dorsal scales in 15–15 – 15 rows, all smooth with no reductions. Ventral scales 160–185 (x ̅ = 168.5 ± 7.1; N = 12), in males 160–173 (x ̅ = 166.6 ± 5.1; N = 10), in females 171–185 (x ̅ = 178.0 ± 9.9; N = 2), no keeling. Cloacal plate divided. Subcaudal scales 31–43 (x ̅ = 37.6 ± 3.7; N = 12), in males 34–43 (x ̅ = 38.5 ± 3.1; N = 10), in females 31–35 (x ̅ = 33.0 ± 2.8; N = 2), paired. Total body scales 199–221 (x ̅ = 206.9 ± 7.1; N = 11), in males 199–217 (x ̅ = 205.8 ± 5.9; N = 10), in females 203–221 (x ̅ = 212.0 ± 12.7; N = 2). Subcaudal ratio 0.153 –0.205 (x ̅ = 0.183 ± 0.017; N = 11), in males 0.171 –0.205 (x ̅ = 0.189 ± 0.012; N = 8), in females 0.153 –0.158 (x ̅ = 0.156 ± 0.004; N = 2). Sexual dimorphism detected for subcaudal ratio (Student’s t-test P = 0.00018). Head scalation (Fig. 5). Rostral enlarged, inflated, triangular in dorsal profile, curved onto upper surface of snout, in contact with first supralabial, nasal, and internasals. Posterior suture of rostral obtuse angled, “ gull-wing ” shaped in dorsal profile. Condition of nasal variable, completely divided (5 / 9 specimens), partially divided above (UMMZ 182640) or below nostril (CIB - CAS 102876, CIB 9968), or undivided (CAS 18005; holotype). Nostril positioned in the anterior edge of the nasal when completely divided; when partially divided, nostril positioned in the median part of the entire scale. Internasals trapezoidal, paired, entire scale 1.7–2.1 times wider than long (all head scale proportions N = 5 unless noted otherwise), each blocked from contacting anteriorly by suture with rostral. Anterior and posterior internasal sutures concave. Median internasal suture 1.4–2.1 times shorter than entire scale. Prefrontals subrectangular, paired, entire scale broad, 1.3–1.5 times wider than long. Median prefrontal suture 1.7–2.8 times shorter than entire scale, longer or shorter than median internasal suture. Supraoculars longer than wide, narrower than prefrontals, posterior edge wider than anterior edge. Frontal large, pentagonal, shield shaped, longer than wide, 1.1–1.2 times longer than median parietal suture. Anterior frontal suture angled, positioned in front of eye sockets. Posterior vertex of frontal bordering parietal broad acute to weak obtuse angle (90–104 °). Parietals large, subrectangular, paired, in broad contact, entire scale 1.0–1.3 times longer than frontal. Parietal suture bordering supraocular and fronta