Herpetology Notes, volume 8: 149-152 (2015) (published online on 10 April 2015) New records of the Horned Pitviper, Protobothrops cornutus (Smith, 1930) (Serpentes: Viperidae), from Vietnam with comments on morphological variation Vinh Quang Luu1,3,4,*, Truong Quang Nguyen2, Tanja Lehmann3, Michael Bonkowski4 and Thomas Ziegler3,4 The Horned Pitviper, Protobothrops cornutus (Smith, Protobothrops cornutus (Smith, 1930), Horned Pit 1930), is a limestone karst inhabitant and this species Viper / Ran luc sung (Fig. 1). has been recorded from southern China (Guangdong Specimens examined (n = 2). Zoological collections and Guangxi provinces) and some provinces in of the Vietnam Forestry University, Hanoi, Vietnam: northern and central Vietnam (Lao Cai, Lang Son, Ha VFU A.2014.7, adult female, collected by V. Q. Luu Giang, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien-Hue) (Ziegler & on 27 March 2014 from Ma Yen limestone mountain Herrmann, 2002; Nguyen et al., 2009). P. cornutus is (20°17.078’N, 105°54.303’E; elevation 59 m a.s.l.), listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List because Hoa Lu District, Ninh Binh Province and of the Institute of habitat degradation and its small and strongly of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi, Vietnam: disjunct subpopulations within its range (IUCN, IEBR A.2013.115, adult male, collected by T. Q. 2014). We herein provide two new provincial records Nguyen and C. T. Pham on 13 October 2011 near Ban of P. cornutus from limestone karst forests of Hoa Lu Coong Village (22°43.199’N, 106°39.359’E; elevation District, Ninh Binh Province and Ha Lang District, Cao 443 m a.s.l.), Duc Quang Commune, Ha Lang District, Bang Province, northern Vietnam. Based on the new Cao Bang Province. findings from northern Vietnam and a considerable Morphological characters of the specimens agreed number of specimens photographed from central and well with the description of Herrmann et al. (2004). northern Vietnam we also report about variation in color Total length 525-663 mm (snout-vent length 460 mm, pattern of P. cornutus. tail length 65 mm in the female; snout-vent length 510 mm, tail length 126 mm in the male); head width 12.6- 13.2 mm; head length 18.8-20.1 mm; body elongated; head triangular, distinguished from neck, flat, covered by small scales; snout obtuse; rostral scale triangular, not visible above; nasal single, subrectangular; loreals 3, between nasal and preocular scale; loreal pit bordered by second supralabial and two preocular 1 Department of Wildlife, Faculty of Forest Resources and scales; supralabials 10, first completely separated from Environmental Management, Vietnam Forestry University, nasal, third supralabial largest, concave in the middle; Xuan Mai, Chuong My, Hanoi, Vietnam. E-mail: qvinhfuv@ yahoo.com.au circumoculars 13; supraoculars 6; interoculars 14; horns 2 Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam including two enlarged scales and two relatively enlarged Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, supraoculars; supralabials separated from suboculars by Hanoi, Vietnam. E-mail: [email protected] 2 scales; infralabials 10-14; dorsal scale rows 21:21:15 3 AG Zoologischer Garten Köln, Riehler Strasse 173, D-50735 in the female, 21:19:15 in the male, keeled; ventral Cologne, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] scales 191 in the male and 202 in the female plus one 4 Zoological Institute, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Strasse 47b, D-50674 Cologne, Germany. E-mail: m.bonkowski@ preventral; subcaudal scales 71 in the female and 75 in uni-koeln.de the male plus a spine at tail tip, all paired; cloacal entire. * Corresponding Author. E-mail: [email protected] Coloration in life: Dorsal head grey with dark brown 150 Luu, Q. V. et al. Figure 1. Horned Pit Viper (Protobothrops cornutus): A) the adult female in life from Ninh Binh Province (VFU A.2014.7); B) the adult male in life from Cao Bang Province (IEBR A.2013.115); C) ventral view and D) dorsal view of the adult female (VFU A.2014.7) in preservative. Photos: V. Q. Luu and T. Q. Nguyen. marks; one stripe each side from posterior of the orbit grey to dark brown. Based on a series of photographs to edge of the labial; dorsal surface grey-brown with available from Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, serial blotches along the midbody; dorsolateral side where the species is common (see Ziegler et al. 2007), light brown; ventral surface greyish-blue; tip of the tail and Ha Giang Province, an overview of color pattern yellowish brown variation is shown in Fig. 2. Sexual dimorphism. The female differs from the male Distribution. This species has been known from by having more dorsal scale rows at midbody (21 vs. southern China (Guangdong and Guangxi provinces) 19 in the male) and more ventral scales (202 vs. 191 in and northern and central Vietnam (Lai Chau, Lao Cai, the male). Dorsal surface of the male marked with dark Ha Giang, Lang Son, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, brown blotches, somewhat broadened and irregularly and Thue Thien - Hue provinces) (Nguyen et al. 2009). arranged posteriorly (grey blotches along midbody in This is the first record of the species from Cao Bang and the female). Ninh Binh provinces in Vietnam (Fig. 3). Morphological variation. The female specimen of P. Natural history notes. The male (IEBR A.2013.115) cornutus from Ninh Binh Province differs from those in specimen was collected at night, hanging on a tree previous descriptions of the species by a higher ventral branch, about 0.5 m above the ground, near the forest scale count (202 vs. 191 in the female holotype from path, the surrounding habitat was mixed forest of small Lao Cai Province and 190 in the male specimen from hardwood, shrub, and bamboo. The female (VFU Quang Binh Province) (see Herrmann et al. 2004). A.2014.7) was found at 21:15 lying on a limestone Dorsal color pattern is also various from yellowish stone in a disturbed karst forest (see Fig. 4). The female New records of Protobothrops cornutus from Vietnam 151 Figure 2. Color patterns of Protobothrops cornutus: A, B, C, D) from Quang Binh Province and E, F) from Ha Giang Province. Photos : T. Ziegler and Q. K. Le. specimen from Ninh Binh Province was found at an Acknowledgements. We thank the directorate of the Forest elevation of 59 m; this is the lowest recorded elevation Protection Departments of Cao Bang and Ninh Binh provinces of the species in Vietnam: 2000 m in Lao Cai Province, for issuing relevant permits. TQN thanks C. T. Pham and D. T. Le for assistance in the field. We thank E. Sterling (New York) 1400 m in Thua Thien - Hue Province, 150 m from and K. Koy (Berkeley) for providing the map, Q. K. Le (Hanoi) Quang Binh Province, and 443 m in Cao Bang Province for providing photographs. Field survey in Cao Bang Province (Herrmann et al., 2002; Le & Ziegler, 2009). was funded by the Nagao Natural Environment Foundation 152 Luu, Q. V. et al. (Japan). Research of T. Q. Nguyen in Germany was funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung/Foundation (VIE 1143441). Research of V. Q. Luu in Germany is funded by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MOET, Project 911) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). References Herrmann, H.-W., Ziegler, T., Malhotra, A., Thorpe, R.S., Parkinson, C. (2004): Redescription and systematics of Trimeresurus cornutus (Serpentes: Viperidae) based on morphology and molecular data. Herpetologica 60: 211–221. IUCN (2014): The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version (2014.2.). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 14 September 2014. Le, K.Q., Ziegler , T. (2009): Geographic Distribution: Protobothrops cornutus (Smith’s horned pit viper). - Herpetological Review 40: 115. Figure 3. Distribution map of Protobothrops cornutus with Nguyen, V.S., Ho, T.C., Nguyen, Q.T. (2009): Herpetofauna of two new records (red circles) from Cao Bang (above) and Vietnam. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main. Uetz, P., Hošek, J. (eds., 2014): The Reptile Database. Available Ninh Binh (below) provinces, northern Vietnam. at: http://www.reptile-database.org. Last accessed 9 September 2014. Ziegler, T., Hendrix, R., Vu, N.T., Vogt, M., Forster, B., Dang, N.K. (2007): The diversity of a snake community in a karst forest ecosystem in the central Truong Son, Vietnam, with an identification key. Zootaxa 1493: 1-40. Figure 4. Microhabitat of Protobothrops cornutus from Hoa Lu limestone mountain, Ninh Binh Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: V. Q. Luu. Accepted by Zoltàn Nagy.