A New Species of the Genus Hebius Thompson, 1913 (Serpentes: Natricidae) from Yunnan, China

A new keelback snake of the genus Hebius, H. jingdongensis sp. nov., is reported from Jingdong in Yunnan of China based on combination of molecular systematics and morphological analyses. This new species is genetically closed to H. khasiensis and H. boulengeri, and has distinct genetic differentiations from its congeners, with the range of uncorrected p-distance from 9.5% (vs. H. octolineatus) to 14.8% (vs. H. andreae) inferred from DNA sequences of the mitochondrial Cyt b gene. In addition, this new species is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) body cylindrical, tail relatively short, TaL/TL 0.235–0.243; (2) dorsal scale rows 19-19-17; (3) ventrals 163–166, cloacal plate divided, subcaudals 71–74 pairs; (4) supralabials 8, the first two contact with the nasals; (5) infralabials 9 or 10, preocular 1, postoculars 3; (6) body dorsum sandy beige with the sides yellowish-brown decorated with two brick-red stripes on the dorsolateral scale rows in life; (7) sutures between the labials brick-red in life and taupe in preservative; (8) ventral light yellow with the outer part of each scale brick-red in life; (9) ventrolateral stripes present.