Weng Shiyang, Yang Dian-Cheng, Wei Cong, Li Peng, Cui Zhangbo, Jiang ZhiHao, Huang Song
Tibet Plateau Institute of Biology, Tibet, China Tibet Plateau Institute of Biology Tibet China.
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Huangshan University, Huangshan, China College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Huangshan University Huangshan China.
Biodivers Data J. 2024 Jul 4;12:e123669. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.12.e123669. eCollection 2024.
The Asian Cat Snake genus Fitzinger, 1826 includes 37 species, with high species diversity. Five species of have been recorded in China including (Boie, 1827), (Stejneger, 1902), (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854), (Wen, 1998) and (Nutaphand, 1971). Previously, the validity of the species (Wall, 1909) was controversial. was considered in synonymy with . Currently, the taxonomy of and (Theobald, 1868) was revised so that and actually represent a single species and was recognised as a valid species. was previously known to be found in the west from central Nepal through Darjeeling, Sikkim and Bhutan to Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in north-eastern India.
One adult female specimen of the Asian Cat Snake was collected from Gyirong County, near the China-Nepal border, Tibet, China during fieldwork on August 2023. We compared morphology and mitochondrial DNA sequence data with all the species of the genus . Both datasets strongly supported referring the Chinese specimens to (Wall, 1909) due to the 21 mid-dorsal scale rows and the uncorrected -distance (mitochondrial DNA gene cytochrome b) between this specimen and which is 1.7%. We further described morphological characters of the Chinese specimen in detail and compared these with the specimens that had been previously described. The dorsal ground colour of the Chinese specimen is dark brown, with a black stripe distributed almost evenly across the tail. This is a novel morph of the species . The newly-collected Chinese specimen expands the distribution of the species on the Himalaya range.
亚洲猫蛇属（Fitzinger，1826年）包含37个物种，具有高度的物种多样性。中国已记录有5个物种，包括缅甸猫蛇（Boie，1827年）、喜山猫蛇（Stejneger，1902年）、黑斑猫蛇（Duméril、Bibron & Duméril，1854年）、墨脱猫蛇（Wen，1998年）和瓦氏猫蛇（Nutaphand，1971年）。此前，瓦氏猫蛇（Wall，1909年）的物种有效性存在争议。它曾被认为与缅甸猫蛇同义。目前，缅甸猫蛇和锡金猫蛇（Theobald，1868年）的分类已修订，使得缅甸猫蛇和锡金猫蛇实际上代表单一物种，而瓦氏猫蛇被确认为有效物种。此前已知该物种分布于西部，从尼泊尔中部经大吉岭、锡金和不丹至印度东北部的阿鲁纳恰尔邦和阿萨姆邦。
2023年8月野外工作期间，在中国西藏中尼边境附近的吉隆县采集到1只亚洲猫蛇成年雌性标本。我们将该标本的形态和线粒体DNA序列数据与亚洲猫蛇属的所有物种进行了比较。两个数据集均强烈支持将中国标本归为瓦氏猫蛇（Wall，1909年），原因是该标本有21行背中线鳞，且该标本与缅甸猫蛇之间的未校正遗传距离（线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因）为1.7%。我们进一步详细描述了中国标本的形态特征，并将其与先前描述的标本进行了比较。中国标本的背部底色为深褐色，尾部有一条几乎均匀分布的黑色条纹。这是该物种的一种新形态。新采集的中国标本扩展了该物种在喜马拉雅山脉的分布范围。
