Taxonomy, ecology and conservation of snakes (serpentes) in border areas between laos and son la province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND TRAINING AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY DINH SY TUONG TAXONOMY, ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF SNAKES (SERPENTES) IN BORDER AREAS BETWEEN LAOS AND SON LA PROVINCE MAJOR: FOREST SCIENCE CODE: 8620201 MASTER THESIS IN FOREST SCIENCE ACADEMIC ADVISOR: ASSOC PROF DR LUU QUANG VINH HaNoi, October 2022 i ABSTRACT This research was conducted to provide the information of snake species in three communes that border with Laos Twenty-five species of snakes have been recorded within surveys from May 17 th - May 28th 2022, June 10th - June 22nd 2022 and June 25th - July 2nd 2022 in Tan Xuan, Chieng Khua and Chieng Tuong communes The number of snake species in these three communes has increased to 42 Remarkably, there are new recorded of species was described (Dendrelaphis, Gonyosoma, Lycodon, Oligodon, Hebius, Pareas, Trimeresurus) for Van Ho District and new recorded for Moc Chau District (Rhabdophis, Protobothrops, Parafimbrios) The main threats to the snake fauna are created by human activities Therefore, the research has recommended some solutions for reducing the threats consisting of managing, keeping and protecting snakes in these three communes ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i TABLE OF CONTENTS ii ABBERVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Snake fauna diversity in Southeast Asia 2.2 Snake fauna research in Vietnam 2.3 Snake fauna research in Laos 2.4 Snake diversity in border areas with Laos of Son La Province 10 CHAPTER 3: GOAL, OBJECTIVES, AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS11 3.1 Goal 11 3.2 Specific Objectives 11 3.3 Research Questions 11 CHAPTER IV: STUDY AREA 12 4.1 Location 12 4.2 Climate 13 4.3 Forestry resources 14 CHAPTER V: METHODS 18 5.1 Field surveys and data collection 18 5.2 Distribution characteristic of snakes 31 5.3 Comparisons of the species similarity composition between border areas 32 5.4 Evaluating conservation status of snake species 32 5.5 Conservation issues 33 iii CHAPTER VI: RESULTS 34 6.1 Snake species composition in the study sites 34 6.1.1 List of snakes from these three communes 34 6.1.2 New records of snakes in the study sites 40 6.1.3 Description of non-new recorded snake species in Tan Xuan, Chieng Khua and Chieng Tuong communes 56 6.2 Distribution of snake species across habitat types and elevations in the study site 67 6.2.1 Distribution by elevations 67 6.2.2 Distribution by habitats 70 6.2.3 Distribution by microhabitats 71 6.3 Conservation issues 72 6.3.1 Conservation status 72 6.3.2 Threat to snake fauna in the study site 75 6.4 Solutions for conservation and management of snake fauna in the study site 79 CHAPTER VII: DISCUSSIONS 81 7.1 Ecological characteristics of snake fauna in the study area 81 7.2 Comparisons of the species similarity composition between border areas 82 7.3 The snake community of Son La compared to that of Houaphan 84 CHAPTER VIII: CONCLUSION 87 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 89 THREE OF ARTICLES RELATED WITH THIS THESIS 90 REFERENCES 91 iv ABBERVIATIONS a.s.l CR EN NT IUCN RBVN VU Above sea level Critically Endangered Endangered Near Threatened International Union for Conservation of Nature Vietnam Red Data Book Vulnerable v LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1 List of survey transects, survey time and participants 20 Table 5.2 Field survey note 27 Table 5.3 Field survey sheet 28 Table 5.4 Abbreviations of main morphological characteristics 28 Table 5.5 Abbreviations of scales in snake group 29 Table 5.6 Distribution of snakes along elevation gradients 31 Table 5.7 Macrohabitat selection by snakes in these three communes 32 Table 5.8 Microhabitat selection by snakes in these three communes 32 Table 5.9 List of threatened species 33 Table 6.1 List of recorded snakes from three communes 35 Table 6.2 List of threatened species 73 Table 7.1 Ecological characteristics of snake fauna by humidity, temperature and collected time 81 Table 7.2 Similarity index (Sorensen-Dice index) on snake species composition between Son La Province and some neighboring province which also border with Laos 83 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Diversity of snakes in Southeast Asia countries during 2010 – 2022 (Source: Uetz et al 2022) Figure 2.2 Number of snake species descriptions increases over 12 years in Vietnam (Source: Uetz et al 2022) Figure 4.1 Study site map 16 Figure 4.2 Topography map of these three communes that border with Laos17 Figure 5.1 Map of transects survey in Tan Xuan commune 18 Figure 5.2 Map of survey transects in Chieng Khua commune 19 Figure 5.3 Map of transects survey in Chieng Tuong commune 19 Figure 5.4 Location of funnel trap in the study area 21 Figure 5.5 Material for trap making (Design by Russell Gray) 22 Figure 5.6 Funnel and trap body (Design by Russell Gray) 23 Figure 5.7 Connecting the two heads of the funnel and the trap compartment (Design by Russell Gray) 24 Figure 5.8 Fixing and completing the funnel trap (Design by Russell Gray) 25 Figure 5.9 Diagram of funnel trap system (Design by Russell Gray) 26 Figure 5.10 Scale in head pattern of snake (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997) 30 Figure 5.11 Body scale count (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997) 30 Figure 5.12: Ventral, subcudal and cloacal scale (Manthey & Grossmann, 1997) 30 Figure 6.1 Snake diversity in three communes border with Laos by family and genera 39 Figure 6.2 Snake species from this study in comparison with previous document ………………………………………………………………… 40 Figure 6.3 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Dendrelaphis ngansonensis (TX2.22.44) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 41 vii Figure 6.4 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Dendrelaphis pictus (TX2.22.06) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 42 Figure 6.5 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Gonyosoma boulengeri (TX2.22.36) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 43 Figure 6.6 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Lycodon fasciatus (TX.22.05) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 45 Figure 6.7 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Oligodon chinensis (TX2.22.40) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 46 Figure 6.8 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Hebius chapaensis (TX2.22.30) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 47 Figure 6.9 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Pareas carinatus (TX2.22.42) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 48 Figure 6.10 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Pareas hamptoni (TX2.22.41) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 49 Family Viperidae Oppel, 1811 49 Figure 6.11 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Trimeresurus cf guoi (TX2.22.39) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 51 Figure 6.12 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Rhabdophis helleri (CK2.22.40) Photos by Thinh L Nghiem 53 Family Viperidae Oppel, 1811 53 Figure 6.13 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Protobothrops mucrosquamatus (CK.22.37) Photos by Thinh L Nghiem 54 Family Xenodermatidae Gray, 1849 54 Figure 6.14 Dorsal view of Parafimbrios cf lao (CK2.22.18) Photos by Vinh Q Luu 56 Figure 6.15 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Ahaetulla prasina (CK.22.08) Photos by Duc T Ha 58 viii Figure 6.16 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Calamaria pavimentata (TX2.22.03) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 59 Figure 6.17 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Lycodon futsingensis (TX2.22.17) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 60 Figure 6.18 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Oreocryptophis porphyraceus (TX2.22.43) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 61 Figure 6.19 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Ptyas korros (TX.22.01) Photos by Duc T Ha 63 Family Natricidae Bonaparte, 1838 63 Figure 6.20 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Fowlea flavipunctatus (CK.22.06) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 64 Figure 6.21 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Trimerodytes percarinatus (TX2.22.15) Photos by Phuong V Nguyen 66 Family Viperidae Oppel, 1811 66 Figure 6.22 (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views of Protobothrops mucrosquamatus (TX2.22.14) Photos by Tuong S Dinh 67 Figure 6.23: Number of species distribution by elevation ranges 69 Figure 6.24: Number of family and species distribution by elevation ranges 69 Figure 6.25: Number of family and species distribution by habitats 71 Figure 6.26 Graph show the number of species distribution in microhabitats72 Figure 6.27 Milpa in Tan Xuan Commune 75 Photo by Vinh Q Luu 75 Figure 6.28 Milpa in Chieng Khua Commune 76 Photo by Tuong S Dinh 76 Figure 6.29 One adult Dendrelaphis pictus dead on road by road kill Photo by Vinh Q Luu 77 Figure 6.30 One adult male Trimeresurus cf guoi dead on the mipla by human kill in Tan Xuan commnune Photo by Tuong S Dinh 77 ix Figure 6.31 One adult Dendrelaphis pictus dead on road by human kill Photo by Vinh Q Luu 78 Figure 6.32 One adult Elaphe taeniura dead on the road by human kill in Chieng Khua commnune Photo by Thinh L Nghiem 78 Figure 7.1 Analysis of groupings of similarity in species composition between Son La Province and some neighboring province which also border with Laos (bootstrap replicates 1000 times) 83 Appendix 3: Distribution of snake by recorded positions No Scientific name Funnel trap Ground Tree branch Road Under water Ahaetulla prasina A A P A A Calamaria pavimentata P A A A A Dendrelaphis ngansonensis A A A P A Dendrelaphis pictus P A A A A Gonyosoma boulengeri A A P A A Lycodon fasciatus A P A A A Lycodon futsingensis A P P A A Oligodon chinensis P A A A A Oreocryptophis porphyraceus P A A A A 10 Ptyas korros A A P A A 11 Fowlea flavipunctatus A P A A A 12 Hebius chapaensis A A A A P 13 Rhabdophis helleri A P A A A 14 Trimerodytes percarinatus A P A A P 15 Pareas carinatus A A P A A 16 Pareas hamptoni A A P A A 17 Protobothrops mucrosquamatus A P P A A 18 Trimeresurus cf guoi A P P A A 19 Parafimbrios cf lao A A P P A A: absent; P: present Appendix 4: Morphological measurement indexes (unit: mm) Ahaetulla prasina Field number CK.22.08 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR PSR Keel/smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem Ptem ♂ 410 225 635 18.5 7.7 15 15 13 smooth 201 174 9/9 9/9 1/1 2/2 1/1 1/1 CK.22.09 ♀ 387 210 597 17.65 7.3 15 15 13 smooth 217 173 9/9 9/10 1/1 2/2 2/2 2/2 TX2.22.29 ♀ 1045 567 1612 38.2 14 15 15 13 smooth 207 163 9/9 10/10 1/1 3/3 2/2 2/2 PostO C 1/1 Atem Ptem Calamaria pavimentata Field number TX2.22.03 Sex Tal TL HL HW ♀ SV L 164 25 189 6.7 3.16 Sex SVL Tal TL ♀ 730 370 110 H L 26 AS R 13 DS R 13 PSR Keel/smooth VEN SC SL 13 29 smooth 163 IL PreO c 4/4 4/4 1/1 Dendrelaphis ngansonensis Field number TX2.22.06 H W ASR DSR PSR 15 15 10 Keel/smoot h smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc 175 129 10/1 10/1 1/1 PostO C 2/2 Atem PostO C 2/2 Atem PostO C 2/2 Atem 2/2 Pte m 2/3 Dendrelaphis pictus Field number TX2.22.44 Sex SVL Tal ♀ 880 430 TL H L 1310 26 HW ASR DSR 16.5 15 15 PS R 11 Keel/smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc smooth 183 134 9/9 9/9 1/1 2/2 Pte m 2/2 Gonyosoma boulengeri Field number TX2.22.36 Sex SVL Tal TL HL ♀ 670 935 24.4 11.84 256 HW ASR 19 DSR PSR Keel/smoot h 19 13 smooth VEN SC SL IL 219 139 9/ PreOc 10/10 1/1 2/2 Pte m 2/3 Lycodon fasciatus Field number TX.22.05 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR PSR Keel/smooth ♂ 580 140 720 17.8 11.5 17 keel Field number TX2.22.17 Sex SVL Tal TL HL ♂ 435 111 546 17 17 15 VE N 202 SC SL IL PreOc 61 1/1 8/ 8/ PostO C 2/2 Atem Ptem 2/2 2/2 Lycodon futsingensis HW AS R 8.5 17 DS R 17 PSR Keel/smooth VEN SC SL 15 smooth 75 200 IL 8/8 10/10 PreO c 1/1 PostO C 2/2 Atem Ptem 2/2 2/2 Oligodon chinensis Field number TX2.22 40 Sex ♀ SV L 510 Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR 120 630 17.8 10.65 17 17 PSR Keel/ smooth 15 keel VEN SC SL IL 177 57 7/7 8/8 PreO c 2/2 PostOC Atem 2/2 1/1 Pte m 1/1 Oreocryptophis porphyraceus Field number TX2.22.43 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR PSR ♀ 715 155 870 26 19 19 17 13.24 Keel/ smooth smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem Ptem 216 70 8/8 10/10 1/1 2/2 1/1 1/2 SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem Ptem 134 8/8 10/10 1/1 2/2 Ptyas korros Field Sex number TX.22.0 ♀ SVL Tal TL HL HW 1190 605 179 41.9 20.55 AS R 17 DSR PSR 13 11 Keel/ VEN smooth smooth 181 2/2 2/2 Fowlea flavipunctatus Field number CK.22.06 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ♀ 430 160 590 22.6 12.1 AS R 19 ♀ 535 175 710 26.8 13.23 19 TX2.22.28 DS R 19 19 17 Keel/ smooth keel 17 keel PSR VEN SC SL IL PreOc 130 60 8/9 10/10 1/1 PostO C 3/3 141 66 9/9 10/10 1/1 3/3 Atem Ptem 3/3 2/2 2/2 3/3 Hebius chapaensis Field number TX2.22.30 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR PSR ♀ 385 180 565 14 17 17 17 Keel/ smooth keel VEN SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem Ptem 171 107 9/10 10/10 2/2 2/2 1/2 1/1 Rhabdophis helleri Field number CK2.22.4 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR PSR Keel/smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem Ptem ♀ 550 210 760 25.34 13.3 19 17 17 keel 161 92 8/8 10/10 1/1 3/3 2/2 2/2 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR PSR Keel/smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem Ptem ♀ 230 86 316 14.2 6.6 19 19 17 keel 139 79 8/8 9/9 1/1 1/1 2/2 2/2 ♀ 210 71 281 14 19 19 17 keel 139 75 9/9 10/10 1/1 3/3 2/2 3/3 Trimerodytes percarinatus Field number TX2.22.1 TX2.22.1 Pareas carinatus Field number TX2.22.4 Sex ♀ SV L 400 Tal TL HL HW ASR 105 505 17.3 8.1 15 DS R 15 PSR Keel/smoot h 15 keel VEN 175 S C 69 SL 7/7 IL PreO c 9/9 2/2 PostO C 1/1 Ate m 2/2 Pte m 2/2 Pareas hamptoni Field number TX2.22.15 Sex SVL Tal TL HL ♂ 310 108 418 12.4 H W 6.5 ASR DSR PSR Keel/smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem 15 15 15 smooth 198 93 8/8 9/9 1/1 1/1 2/2 Pte m 2/2 Protobothrops mucrosquamatus Field number TX2.22 14 CK2.22 37 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW ASR DSR PSR Keel/smooth VEN SC SL IL PreOc ♀ 885 190 1075 40.75 18.1 29 25 21 Keel 205 86 9/10 15/16 ♀ 315 77 392 15.18 10.4 27 25 21 Keel 217 80 10/10 13/14 PostOC Atem Ptem Trimeresurus cf guoi Field number TX2.22 39 TX2.22 46 Sex SVL Tal TL HL HW AS R DSR PSR Keel/ smooth VEN SC SL IL ♀ 440 75 515 22.4 12.7 26 21 15 Keel 165 50 11/11 13/15 ♂ 470 120 590 22.9 14.7 23 21 15 Keel 167 73 11/12 13/13 PreO c PostO C Atem Pte m Parafimbrios cf lao Field Sex number CK2.22 ♀ 18 SV L Tal TL HL HW AS R DS R PSR Keel/smoot h VE N SC SL IL PreOc PostOC Atem Ptem 175 42 217 9.2 31 31 25 Keel 182 54 8/8 6/6 1/1 2/2 2/2 3/3 Appendix 5: Current list of snakes know from Houaphanh and Son La Province Current checklist of snakes from Houaphanh Province No I II 10 III 11 12 13 14 IV 15 16 Scientific name Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Squamata Oppel, 1811 Pythonidae Fitzinger, 1826 Malayopython reticulatus (Schneider, 1801) Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820 Colubridae Oppel, 1811 Ahaetulla prasina (Boie, 1827) Boiga multomaculata (Boie, 1827) Dendrelaphis cf cyanochloris (Wall, 1921) Elaphe taeniura (Cope, 1861) Lycodon cf capucinus Boie, 1827 Oreocryptophis porphyraceus (Cantor, 1839) Ptyas korros (Schlegel, 1837) Ptyas multicincta (Roux, 1907) Natricidae Bonaparte, 1838 Fowlea flavipunctatus (Hallowell, 1860) Hebius chapaensis (Bourret, 1934) Trimerodytes percarinatus (Boulenger, 1899) Trimerodytes yapingi (Guo, Zhu & Liu, 2019) Pareatidae Romer, 1956 Pareas geminatus Ding, Chen, Suwannapoom, Nguyen, Poyarkov & Vogel, 2020 Pareas hamptoni (Boulenger, 1905) Stuart (1998) Stuart and Teynié et heatwole al (2015) (2008) Nguyen et al (2020) Ding et al (2020) Zuklin et al (2021) Dinh et al (2022) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + No 17 18 V 19 20 VI 21 22 Scientific name Pareas macularius Theobald, 1868 Pareas margaritophorus (Jan, 1866) Elapidae Boie, 1827 Bungarus candidus (Linnaeus, 1758) Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) Viperidae Oppel, 1811 Trimeresurus albolabris Gray, 1842 Trimeresurus vogeli David, Vidal & Pauwels, 2001 VII Xenodermatidae Gray, 1849 23 Parafimbrios lao Teynié, David, Lottier, Le, Vidal & Nguyen, 2015 Stuart (1998) Stuart and Teynié et heatwole al (2015) (2008) Nguyen et al (2020) + + Ding et al (2020) Zuklin et al (2021) + + + + + Dinh et al (2022) Current checklist of snakes from Son La Province No I II III IV 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Scientific name Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Squamata Oppel, 1811 Typhlopidae Merrem, 1820 Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803) Pythonidae Fitzinger, 1826 Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820 Xenopeltidae Bonaparte, 1845 Xenopeltis unicolor Reinwardt, 1827 Colubridae Oppel, 1811 Ahaetulla prasina (Boie, 1827) Boiga cyanea (Dumeril, Bibron & Dumeril, 1854) Boiga guangxiensis Wen, 1998 Boiga multomaculata (Boie, 1827) Calamaria pavimentata Dumeril, Bibron & Dumerin, 1854 Chrysopelea ornata (Shaw, 1802) Coelognathus radiatus (Boie, 1827) Dendrelaphis ngansonensis (Bourret, 1935) Dendrelaphis pictus (Gmelin, 1789) Elaphe moellendorffi (Boettger, 1886) Elaphe taeniura (Cope, 1861) Euprepiophis mandarinus (Cantor, 1842) Gonyosoma boulengeri Mocquard, 1897 Gonyosoma coeruleum Liu, Hou, Lwin, Wang & Rao, Luu et al 2019 Pham et Dinh et Ha et al al (2020) al (2021) (2020) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + No Scientific name 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 V 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 2021 Gonyosoma frenatum (Gray, 1853) Liopeltis frenatus (Gunther, 1858) Lycodon fasciatus (Anderson, 1879) Lycodon futsingensis (Pope, 1928) Lycodon meridionalis (Bourret, 1935) Lycodon subcinctus Boie, 1827 Oligodon catenatus (Blyth, 1854) Oligodon chinensis (Gunther, 1888) Oligodon fasciolatus (Günther, 1864) Oreocryptophis porphyraceus (Cantor, 1839) Ptyas korros (Schlegel, 1837) Ptyas multicincta (Roux, 1907) Ptyas mucosa (Linnaeus, 1758) Ptyas nigromarginata (Blyth, 1854) Sibynophis collaris (Gray, 1853) Natricidae Bonaparte, 1838 Amphiesma stolatum (Linnaeus, 1758) Fowlea flavipunctatus (Hallwell, 1861) Hebius bitaeniatum (Wall, 1925) Hebius boulengeri (Gressitt, 1937) Hebius chapaensis Bourret, 1934 Rhabdophis chrysargos (Schlegel, 1837) Rhabdophis nigrocinctus (Blyth, 1856) Rhabdophis helleri (Schmidt, 1925) Luu et al 2019 Pham et Dinh et Ha et al al (2020) al (2021) (2020) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + No 41 42 VI 43 44 45 VII 46 47 VIII 48 IX 49 X 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 XI 57 58 Scientific name Trimerodytes percarinatus (Boulenger, 1899) Trimerodytes yunnanensis (Rao & Yang, 1998) Pareatidae Romer, 1956 Pareas carinatus (Boie, 1828) Pareas hamptoni (Boulenger, 1905) Pareas margaritophorus (Jan, 1866) Homalopsidae Bonaparte, 1845 Hypsiscopus plumbea (Boie, 1827) Myrrophis chinensis (Gray, 1842) Pseudaspididae Psammodynastes pulverulentus (Boie, 1827) Pseudoxenodontidae McDowell, 1987 Pseudoxenodon macrops (Blyth, 1854) Elapidae Boie, 1827 Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider, 1801) Bungarus multicinctus Blyth, 1860 Naja atra Cantor, 1842 Naja kaouthia Lesson, 1831 Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) Sinomicrurus kelloggi (Pope, 1928) Sinomicrurus macclellandi (Reinhardt, 1844) Viperidae Oppel, 1811 Ovophis monticola (Günther, 1864) Protobothrops cornutus (Smith, 1930) Luu et al 2019 Pham et Dinh et Ha et al al (2020) al (2021) (2020) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + No Scientific name 59 60 61 XII 62 Protobothrops mucrosquamatus (Cantor, 1839) Trimeresurus albolabris Gray, 1842 Trimeresurus stejnegeri Schmidt, 1925 Xenodermatidae Gray, 1849 Achalinus timi Ziegler, Nguyen, Pham, Nguyen, Pham, Van Schingen, Nguyen & Le, 2019 Achalinus vanhoensis Ha, Ziegler, Dinh, Le, Nguyen & Luu, 2022 Parafimbrios lao Teynié, David, Lottier, Le, Vidal & Nguyen, 2015 63 64 Luu et al 2019 Pham et Dinh et Ha et al al (2020) al (2021) (2020) + + + + + + Appendix 6: List of new snake species in Vietnam during 2010-2022 No Species name Year Location Habitat Elevation References Calamaria concolor 2010 Thua Thien - Hue Rain polydominant forest 1400 m a.s.l Orlov et al (2010) Emydocephalus szczerbaki 2011 Ba Ria - Vung Tau Unknown unknown Dotsenko, (2011) Opisthotropis cucae 2011 Kon Tum Secondary evergreen forest 740 m a.s.l David et al (2011) Oligodon nagao 2012 Cao Bang karst forests 300 m a.s.l David et al (2012) Azemiops kharini 2013 Tam Dao mountain regions 600-2000 m a.s.l Orlov et al (2013) Lowland monsoon semideciduous, polydominant, partially submersible forest 130 m a.s.l Vassilieva et al (2013) Unknown Unknown Amarasinghe et al (2015) 5m a.s.l Vassilieva, (2015) 15m a.s.l Nguyen et al (2016) 41m a.s.l Nguyen et al (2017) Oligodon cattienensis 2013 Dong Nai Cylindrophis jodiae 2015 Annam, Central vietnam Oligodon arenarius 2015 Ba Ria - Vung Tau Coastal dune, dipterocarp forest Oligodon condaoensis 2016 Ba Ria - Vung Tau Evergreen forest 10 Oligodon 2017 Cu Lao Cham Islands, dry primary forests light or No Species name Year Location Elevation References Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve, Bac Giang Small rocky streams, secondary evergreen forest of medium and small hardwoods mixed with bamboo, shrubs, and vines 437m a.s.l Ziegler et al (2018) limestone karst forest and fragmented with hill agricultural fields 1317m a.s.l Ziegler et al (2018) Quang Nam culaochamensis 2018 Habitat plantations 11 Opisthotropis voquyi 12 Parafimbrios vietnamensis 2018 Lai Chau 13 Calamaria dominici 2019 Ta Dung Nature Resserve, Dak Nong Primary forest 1240m a.s.l Ziegler et al (2019) 14 Lycodon namdongensis 2019 Nam Dong Nature Reserve, Thanh Hoa Shrubs in secondary karst forest 616m a.s.l Luu et al (2019) Lowland forest limestone karst forest 15 Achalinus juliani 2019 Phia Oac-Phia Den National Park and Ha Lang, Cao Bang 16 Achalinus timi 2019 Copia Nature Reserve, Son La Secondary evergreen forest 1470m a.s.l Ziegler et al (2019) 17 Achalinus emilyae 2019 Dong Son-Ky Thuong Nature Reserve, Quang Forest stream 348.5m a.s.l Ziegler et al (2019) and 470 – 1460m a.s.l Ziegler et al (2019) No Species name Year Location Habitat Elevation References Secondary evergreen forest 950m a.s.l Ziegler et al (2019) Elfin forest 1980m a.s.l Poyarkov et al (2019) Montane evergreen tropical forest 1010m a.s.l Poyarkov et al (2019) Secondary karst forest 701m a.s.l Janssen et al (2019) Mixed-pine forest and evergreen montane broadleaf forest 1622m a.s.l Nguyen et al (2020) m a.s.l Luu et al (2020) 228 m a.s.l Miller et al (2020) Ninh 18 Opisthotropis haihaensis 2019 Hai Ha District, Quang Ninh 19 Calamaria strigiventris 2019 Biduop-Nui Ba NP, Lam Dong 20 Liopeltis pallidonuchalis 2019 Kno Chu Rang Nature Reserve, Gia Lai 21 Lycodon pictus 2019 Cao Bang 22 Oligodon rostralis 2020 Biduop-Nui Ba NP, Lam Dong 23 Achalinus tranganensis 2020 Trang An, Ninh Binh 24 Achalinus zugorum 2020 Ha Giang 25 Ahaetulla rufusoculara 2021 My Phuoc, Soc Trang 26 Hebius igneus 2021 Duc Xuan, Na Hang District, Tuyen Quang Limestone forest Primarily of secondary forest with medium to small hardwoods on karst Lam et al (2021) inhabits regions covered with tropical evergreen forest and subtropical 350 – 450 m a.s.l David et al (2021) No Species name Year Location Province Habitat montane evergreen deciduous forests Elevation References and 27 Pareas temporalis 2021 Lam Dong disturbedmixed broadleaf and bamboo forest 496 m a.s.l Le et al (2021) 28 Lycodon anakradaya 2022 Khanh Hoa Stream 493 m a.s.l Nguyen et al (2022) 29 Lycodon truongi 2022 Khanh Hoa Stream 500 m a.s.l Nguyen et al (2022) 30 Pareas abros 2022 Quang Nam, Thua Thien–Hue primary polydominantforest along the banks of montane streams 1083 m a.s.l Poyarkov et al (2022) 31 Pareas kuznetsovorum 2022 Phu Yen Evergereen forests 583 m a.s.l Poyarkov et al (2022) 32 Achalinus vanhoensis 2022 Son La Karst forest, mixed with cultivation areas 1121 m a.s.l Ha et al (2022)