Comments on the taxonomic status o f the montane Pareas from Hong Kong (Squamata: Colubridae)

香港鈍頭蛇屬蛇類的分類地位探討（有鱗目：黃頷蛇科）

Hidetoshi Ota ； Anthony Bogadek ； Michael W. Lau

《臺灣省立博物館半年刊》 50卷2期 (1997/12) Pp. 85-91

https://doi.org/10.6532/JTM.199712_50(2).0002

摘要

The taxonomic status of the rare, compresed-bodied Pareas from Hong Kong, hitherto considered as P. hamptoni, was re-assessed on the basis of three previously reported and one newly collected specimens, all from Mt. Tai Mo Shan in the New Territories, and one hatchling obtained from the latter specimen in captivity. Four of them had distinctly fewer ventrals and three of them also had distinctly fewer sub-caudals when compared with specimens of P. hamptoni from outside Hong Kong including the holotype of the species. On the other hand, literature-based comparisons revealed no discernible differences between the five Hong Kong specimens and P. chinensis, another species of the genus widely occurring in southeastern China. This strongly suggests that the Hong Kong population actually belongs to P. chinensis, and does not reflect a disjunct distribution of P. hamptoni.

關鍵字

Pareas hamptoni ； P. chinensis ； Hong Kong ； taxonomy

並列摘要

在香港所採到的一個稀有且較扁平的鈍頭蛇屬（Pareas）標本，一直都被歸爲緬甸鈍頭蛇（P. hamptoni）。而本文依據同樣採於新界大帽山（Mt. Tai Mo Shan）的三個以前發表過和一個新採的標本，及由新採標本體內尋獲蛇卵所孵化的活體，來與緬甸鈍頭蛇的原模標本，及香港以外地區的緬甸鈍頭蛇標本作比較後，發現其中有四個香港標本的腹鱗明顯較少，有三個標本則是尾下鱗較少。於是我們從文獻上去比對，發現這五個香港採的標本，與廣泛分布於中國東南部的鈍頭蛇（P. chinensis）完全相同。由此我們認爲在香港採的這一鈍頭蛇族群，應該屬於鈍頭蛇而非緬甸鈍頭蛇。

並列關鍵字

緬甸鈍頭蛇 ； 鈍頭蛇 ； 香港 ； 分類學