Achalinus mirabilis was discovered in Taizhou City in Zhejiang Province, China. The city is highly urbanized in an economically developed region.
Chinese researchers have described a new snake species from the Achalinus genus of snakes. This genus of snakes are found in China, Japan, Taiwan and northern Vietnam. The snake, Achalinus mirabilis sp. nov. is different from its congeners based on its size, with a maximum snout to vent length of 270 mm in males and 332 mm in females; relatively short tail; lack of a loreal scale; strongly keeled dorsal scales; and length of suture between internasals, among other distinguishing factors.
In life, Achalinus mirabilis has a brown head with the median area being darker than the lateral regions. The back, or dorsum is brown with a slight metallic sheen. The ventral surface of the head and body are a uniform light brown with pale, creamy white ventral scales. The eyes are black.
Live or fresh specimens of paratypes of Achalinus mirabilis sp. nov. A. SMNH 20250126, subadult male; B. QHU R2025053, adult male; C. QHU R2025054, adult female; D. SYS r003125, adult female. Photographs by J.H. Hu (A–C) and H.J. Chen (D). Snakes C and D were road killed specimens.
Achalinus mirabilis was discovered in Taizhou City in Zhejiang Province, China. The city is highly urbanized in an economically developed region. It is known to occur in the Kuocang Mountains (Kuocangshan) in Linhai City, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, China. The researchers propose the snake to be called the “Kuocang Moutain odd-scaled snake” in English and “括苍山脊蛇” (Kuò Cāng Shān Jǐ Shé) in Chinese. It is found in elevations ranging from 163 to 879 meters above sea level. The researchers found live individuals and road killed specimens at night under clear weather conditions, they wrote in their paper. The habitats of this species includes bamboo forests and subtropical broad-leaved forests.
The researchers include Yuhao Xu, Jiahao Hu, Shuo Qi Shun Ma, Haojun Chen, Tierui Zhang, Yunfei Zhang, Fanyue Sun, Jiajun Zhou, Jinan Xu, Yingyong Wang, and Lifang Peng.
The complete paper describing the new species, “Taxonomic reassessment of Achalinus jinggangensis (Zong & Ma, 1983) (Serpentes, Xenodermidae), with description of a new species from Zhejiang Province, China,“ can be read on the Zoosystematics and Evolution website.
