The Rediscovery of Angel’s Stream Snake, Paratapinophis praemaxillaris Angel, 1929 (Reptilia: Serpentes: Natricidae)

Authors

  • JOHN C. MURPHY Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60505 USA.
  • TANYA CHAN-ARD Thailand Natural History Museum, National Science Museum, Technopolis, Klong 5, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
  • SONCHAI MEKCHAI Thailand Natural History Museum, National Science Museum, Technopolis, Klong 5, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
  • MICHAEL COTA Thailand Natural History Museum, National Science Museum, Technopolis, Klong 5, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120, Thailand.
  • HAROLD K. VORIS Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60505 USA.

Keywords:

Paratapinophis, Opisthotropis, Thailand, China, Laos, stream snakes

Abstract

Paratapinophis praemaxillaris was described by Angel (1929) on the basis of two neonate specimens from Xieng-Khouang in northern Laos. Pope later placed the genus in the synonymy of Opisthotropis Günther, 1872. We collected five adult specimens along the Nan River, in northern Thailand. Here we describe the adults of Angel’s Stream Snake, discuss the monotypic genus, its distribution, habitat, and diet. Based upon morphology we remove Paratapinophis Angel, 1929 from the synomomy of Opisthotropis. An identification matrix is provided for identifying snakes in the genera Opsithotropis, Parahelicops, and Paratapinophis Bourret, 1934, all have been considered Opisthotropis at one time or another, and we comment on the status of Opisthotropis.

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Published

2008-10-01

How to Cite

[1]
MURPHY, J.C., CHAN-ARD, T., MEKCHAI, S., COTA, M. and VORIS, H.K. 2008. The Rediscovery of Angel’s Stream Snake, Paratapinophis praemaxillaris Angel, 1929 (Reptilia: Serpentes: Natricidae). Tropical Natural History. 8, 2 (Oct. 2008), 169–183.

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2008): The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University

Section

Original Articles

License

Chulalongkorn University. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher