title: Valid or not? Yunnan mountain snake Plagiopholis unipostocularis (Serpentes: Colubridae: Pseudoxenodontinae).
abstract: Plagiopholis unipostocularis Zhao, Jiang & Huang, 1978 is a small snake endemic to Yunnan, southern China. Its validity is still controversial and unresolved. Based on extensive sampling in Yunnan, we conducted morphological comparison and molecular phylogenetics on the unidentified specimens of Plagiopholis from Yunnan. Based on a combination of morphological comparison and molecular phylogeny, the newly collected specimens could be identified as P. blakewayi. While some specimens exhibit one or more diagnostics of P. unipostocularis, and some characteristics are intermediate between that of Plagiopholis unipostocularis and P. blakewayi. Thus morphological continuities between two species uncovered P. unipostocularis is a synonymy of P. blakewayi, and the diagnostics of this species was revised accordingly.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China College of Tourism and Urban-Rural Planning, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Guang Hui
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: College of Tourism and Urban-Rural Planning, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Wen De
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: College of Tourism and Urban-Rural Planning, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China; Email: peihaop@163.com.
authors.forename: Pei Hao
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Food Engineering, Yibin University, Yibin 644007, China; Email: ybguop@163.com.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D002681:China; D017812:Colubridae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010802:Phylogeny