Stegonotus batjanensis

11. Given the large difference between our own count and the value listed by Günther (1865), we believe it most likely that Günther inadvertently reversed his numbers and that his actual count would have been 87, including the now missing tail tip scale. count. De Lang (2013) listed dorsal counts of “ 19, 17, or 15 - 17 - 15 ” for the species, citing several literature sources 12. We found only the 17 - 17 - 15 count, although there are specimens that display dorsal count oddities, whereby a few dorsal rows have 16 or 18 rows before returning to the regular count of 17.

Sumber: The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)

Synonyms. Leptophis batjanensis Bleeker, 1857: 473 (nomen nudum) Original name. Coluber (Lielaphis) batjanensis Günther 1865: 93. In his fourth list of snakes, Günther placed his new species into a genus he erected to accommodate Coluber holochrous and Spilotes samarensis (see their respective accounts above), two species that have long been in the synonymy of other taxa (with S. modestus and S. muelleri, respectively). Due to the logistical constraints of research at the time, it is doubtful that Günther actually personally examined the type specimens of S. modestus or S. muelleri, the respective taxa in whose synonymy the two putative Lielaphis species were placed. The species epithet references Batjan, an older name for Bacan Island based on Dutch pronunciation, and the description was presented in English.

Sumber: The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)