title: A new species of kukri snake (Squamata: Colubridae: Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826) from Con Dao Islands, southern Vietnam.
abstract: We describe a new kukri snake, Oligodon condaoensis sp. nov., from Con Dao Islands, southern Vietnam based on the morphological characters of four specimens. It differs from other congeners by a combination of the following characters: medium size in adults (total length up to 552 mm); 17-17-15 dorsal scale rows; deeply forked hemipenes without spines and papillae, extending to subcaudal 13 or 14; 11-13 maxillary teeth, the posterior three being enlarged; cloacal plate undivided; head scalation complete; nasal divided; presubocular absent; 168-176 ventrals; 33-37 subcaudals; overall dorsal coloration dark gray, faint body stripes present or absent; and ventral coloration cream to dark gray without rectangular blotches. We also provide a list of 43 species of amphibians and terrestrial reptiles recorded from Con Dao Islands.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 85 Tran Quoc Toan St., Dist. 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.; Email: ngocsangitb@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Sang Ngoc
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 85 Tran Quoc Toan St., Dist. 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Vu Dang Hoang
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Con Dao National Park, 29 Vo Thi Sau St., Con Dao Town, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Prov., Vietnam.; Email: son@condaopark.com.vn.
authors.forename: Son Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Canada M5S 2C6.; Email: bob.murphy@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D017812:Colubridae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D062312:Islands; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D014744:Vietnam