[Herpetology • 2003] Gongylosoma mukutense | Mukut Smooth Snake • A New Species of Gonglyosoma (Squamata: Colubridae) from Pulau Tioman, West Malaysia

A new species of Gongylosoma is described from Pulau Tioman, a small island 38 km off the southeast coast of Pahang, West Malaysia, in the South China Sea. This species differs from all other Gongylosoma in having a single, enlarged, posterior temporal; chinshields of equal size; and a thin nuchal band that contacts a vestigial vertebral stripe. The new species forms a clade with G. nicobariense from the Nicobar Islands and G. longicauda from Borneo, Java, and Sumatra and is the sister species of the latter.

Keywords: Biogeography, Gongylosoma, Liopeltis, Malaysia, Pulau Tioman

Grismer, L.L.; Indraneil Das, and Tzi Ming Leong 2003. A New Species of Gonglyosoma (Squamata: Colubridae) from Pulau Tioman, West Malaysia. Herpetologica. 59(4):565-572. 2003 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1655/02-38