ARPHA Preprints, doi: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e75596
New and highest record of the rare Szechwan ratsnake, Euprepiophis perlaceus (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Muge Co, Kangding, Garzê, China
expand article infoSylvia Hofmann‡
‡ Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany

Corresponding author: Sylvia Hofmann ( s.hofmann@leibniz-zfmk.de )

© Sylvia Hofmann.
This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Open Access
Abstract

Little is known about the distribution, biology, and ecology of the rare, endemic Szechwan ratsnake. Here, molecular data of the species are provided from a habitat at 3370 m a.s.l., the so far highest record of this snake. Genetic analysis (mtDNA and nDNA) confirmed the identity of the specimen as E. perlaceus and its close relationship to E. mandarinus. P-distances are in the range known for Elaphids and Euprepiophis as interspecific.

Keywords
Euprepiophis, high elevation, Muge Co lake basin, southeast margin of Tibet, species identification