Ahaetulla mycterizans MNHN

Ahaetulla mycterizans (Linnaeus, 1758) (Figs 1; 2)

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Indonesia. Sumatra, north of Jambi Province, 01°10’616”S, 102°24’316”E, a locality on the western fringe of Bukit Besar Reserve, near Dusunmurasekalo, 6. VI.2002, Rémi Girault (Cayenne, Guyane française) coll., 1 adult š (MNHN 2002.0691).

DESCRIPTION

Morphology

Body very thin and elongate (ratio SVL/BW 73.2), compressed; head elongate, narrow but distinct of the thin neck; snout long, acuminate, distinctly convex above, narrower than the head and concave on its sides in front of eyes, amounting for 32.0% of HL and 1.8 times the horizontal diameter of the eye; a short dermal appendage, slightly upturned; a strong canthus rostralis, nostril lateral, large, oblong, piercing near the centre of the nasal; eye large, its diameter about twice the distance between the edge of the lip and its lower margin, with a horizontal, elliptic pupil; tail very long, tapering.

Measurements SVL 665 mm, TaL 392 mm, TL 1057 mm, HL 24.60 mm, SnL 7.90 mm (including the dermal appendage). Ratio TaL/TL: 37.1%.

Hemipenis (inverted, dissected in situ)

Hemipenis short, reaching only 5th SC, not forked; distal end strongly calyculate with large calyces; proximal region spinose, with a few very large spines near the sulcus spermaticus; some folds at the base of the organ.

Dentition

On the right upper maxilla, 16 teeth, as follows: 7 small teeth, progressively but strongly increasing in size posteriorly; a gap; 6 small teeth; and 3 strongly enlarged posterior teeth.

Body scalation

DSR: 15-15-13 rows, in oblique rows; scales all smooth, narrow and elongate, irregular in size: scales of 1st DSR much enlarged, scales of DSR 3-6 very narrow, vertebral scales pentagonal and strongly enlarged.

VEN: 194 (plus 1 preventral), laterally angulated; SC: 168, all paired; anal plate entire.

Head scalation

Rostral high, ending with the short dermal appendage; nasal entire, narrow, 3 times as long as high; internasals triangular, long but shorter than prefrontals, strongly narrowing anteriorly, in broad contact each with the other, strongly curved posteriorly and in contact with anterior loreal; prefrontals subrectangular, elongate, in contact with the preocular on both sides; frontal long, wide, ogive-like, 1.8 times as long as wide, apex rather narrow; an entire supraocular on each side, about 1.7 times longer than wide, very broad posteriorly; two large, subtriangular parietals, slightly shorter than the frontal, followed by 2 enlarged sagittal scales; 2/3 elongate loreal scales (a minute scale anteriorly at right), each about 1.7-1.8 times longer than high; 8/7 supralabials, 1st SL small, 1st and 2nd in contact with nasal, 2nd-4th/2nd-3rd in contact with the group of loreals, 4th SL at right transversely divided into a narrow, oblique supralabial (see Figs 1; 2) and a large lower preocular, SL 4th-5th-6th/4th-5th entering orbit, 6th-7th/5th-6th largest, 8th/7th long and narrow; 1/2 large preoculars, at right the lower one due to a division of the 4th SL; 2/2 small postoculars; 2+3/2+3 small temporals, the upper ones narrower than the lower ones; 8/9 infralabials, first pair in contact, IL 1-4 in contact with anterior chin shields, 2th IL very small, 5th IL the largest; posterior chin shields narrower but longer than anterior chin shields.

B

Coloration and pattern in preservative

The upper surface of the body and tail is uniformly dark greyish-green, somewhat paler on the lower part of the sides including the tip of ventrals, turning to greenish-black on the posterior part of the body and on the tail.

The head is dark green above, lighter greyishgreen on its side, especially on the temporals; a faint, creamish-green postocular streak on the posterior supralabials. The chin and throat are ivory, heavily dotted with greyish-green on the posterior infralabials.

The venter is ivory anteriorly, with a thin greenish-grey line extending on the outer third of each ventral which produces a longitudinal stripe on each ventral; a white line between the green line and the tip of ventrals, producing a white ventrolateral stripe on each side. After the first quarter of the venter, the green lateral lines widen, giving a dark greyish-green venter ornate with two median creamish-grey longitudinal stripes; tail beneath entirely dark greyish-green.

BIOLOGY

This specimen was collected in early afternoon in an old forest plantation with a grass cover and jungle-vine plants, which has never been exploited. The specimen was obtained at about 50 m from a forest stream. This forest, covering only a few hectares, is surrounded on 1-2 km with other young man-planted forests, aged between 20 and 30 years and more strongly harvested.