Nine new species of Katrinahoserserpenea Hoser, 2012 from northern India, western China Vietnam, Burma, Thailand and Malaysia as well as a new genus of snake associated with Xylophis Beddome, 1878 from India (Serpentes: Pareidae).
Australasian Journal of Herpetology 47:42-56.
Published 9 July 2020.
ABSTRACT
Nine divergent species within the genus Katrinahoserserpenea Hoser, 2012 (Serpentes: Pareidae) from
northern India, western China, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma are formally named and described for the first
time. Two species were formerly treated as populations of K. (Dannyleeus) monticola (Cantor, 1839), five of
K. (Katrinahoserserpenea) macularius (Theobold, 1868) and two of K. (Katrinahoserserpenea)
margaritophorus (Jan, 1866).
This paper continues the recent naming of new species within the Pareidae, underscoring previously
underestimated snake biodiversity in the south Asian region.
The genus Xylophis Beddome, 1878, (subfamiliy Xylophiinae Deepak et al. 2019) as currently recognized are
endemic to the Western Ghats of peninsular India. Molecular studies (e.g. Deepak et al. 2020) and
morphology indicate two divergent lineages of great antiquity. One of these is formally placed in a new genus
Zilonear gen. nov..
Keywords: Snakes; Serpentes; Pareidae; Asia; China; India; Thailand; Vietnam; Burma;
Katrinahoserserpenea; Pareas; Dannyleeus; macularius; monticola; new genus; Zilonear; new species;
rayhammondi;