Description of a New Cobra ( Naja Laurenti, 1768; Squamata, Elapidae) from China with Designation of a Neotype for Naja atra

Taxonomic frameworks for medically important species such as cobras (genus Laurenti, 1768; Squamata, Elapidae) are essential for the medical treatment of snake bites and accurate antivenin development. In this paper, we described the former populations recorded from China as a new species and design...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals (Basel) 2022-12, Vol.12 (24), p.3481
Main Authors: Shi, Sheng-Chao, Vogel, Gernot, Ding, Li, Rao, Ding-Qi, Liu, Shuo, Zhang, Liang, Wu, Zheng-Jun, Chen, Ze-Ning
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asian cobras
Bites
Cytochrome
Elapidae
Health services
Medical treatment
Mitochondria
Morphology
Museums
Naja
Naja atra
Naja kaouthia
Naja naja
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Populations
Snake bites
Snakes
Squamata
Taxonomic revision
Taxonomy
Venom
Zoology
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Summary:Taxonomic frameworks for medically important species such as cobras (genus Laurenti, 1768; Squamata, Elapidae) are essential for the medical treatment of snake bites and accurate antivenin development. In this paper, we described the former populations recorded from China as a new species and designated a neotype for -based morphological and mitochondrial phylogenetic analysis. The new species . was morphologically diagnosed from by (1) regular single narrow crossband present on the middle and posterior parts of the dorsum (3-15, 7.9 ± 2.7, = 32) and the dorsal surface of the tail (1-6, 4.2 ± 1.1, = 32) of both adults and juveniles, buff-colored with dark fringes on both edges, vs. South Asian populations ( = 39) and Southeast Asian populations ( = 35) without cross bands, with irregular cross bands or multiple light-colored crossbands pairs, or densely woven lines; (2) small scales between the posterior chin shields, usually three (40%) or two (37%), rarely four (13%), or one (10%) ( = 30) vs. mostly one (81%) and rarely two (19%) ( = 28); (3) ventrals 179-205 (195.4 ± 6.7, = 33) vs. South Asian populations 179-199 (188.7 ± 5.9, = 12); Southeast Asian populations 168-186 (177.8 ± 4.9, = 18). Phylogenetically, the new species forms an independent sister clade to the clade including , , and . Furthermore, the subspecies should be resurrected and recognized as a full species, , and the subspecies should be resurrected.
ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani12243481