First record of Trimerodytes praemaxillaris (Angel, 1929) from Xaisomboun Province, Laos, with additional comments on morphology, natural history, and the type locality

Abstract

We describe the discovery of the 11th specimen of Trimerodytes premaxillaris and use this opportunity to make some clarifying remarks about the history of the species, its type locality, morphology, and natural history. The snake was found at the southernmost locality for the species and represents a new provincial record for Laos. It was in the process of swallowing a juvenile spiny bream (Scaphiodonichthys acanthopterus), the first identifiable prey for this snake. The snake was a female carrying two oviductal eggs indicating that the reproductive season of the species likely coincides with the monsoon season. This correlates with the collection of the hatchling type specimens in late 1925 or early 1926. Finally, we provide some additional detail regarding this species’ scale and colour pattern, as well as a more detailed account of the type locality and the time when the syntypes were collected.