An unexpected discovery of hidden diversity: a new species of the genus Calamaria H. Boie in F. Boie, 1827 (Squamata, Calamariidae) from Guangxi, China Author Qi, Shuo 0000-0002-2924-6093 School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China Author Nguyen, Tan Van 0000-0001-5413-968X The School of Medicine & Pharmacy, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam & Center for Entomology & Parasitology Research, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam Author Wang, Jian 0000-0003-4249-7767 Guangdong Polytechnic of Environmental Protection Engineering, Foshan 528216, China Author Zeng, Zhao-Chi Guangdong Polytechnic of Environmental Protection Engineering, Foshan 528216, China Author Shi, Jing-Song 0000-0001-9168-1734 Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China Author Xu, Yu-Hao 0000-0001-6094-6680 State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China Author Song, Han-Ming https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8244-1567 School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China Author Huang, Zhong https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7825-4778 Natural History Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, 530012, China Author Mo, Yun-Ming Natural History Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, 530012, China Author Poyarkov, Nikolay A. 0000-0002-7576-2283 Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskiye Gory, GSP- 1, Moscow 119234, Russia Author Wang, Ying-Yong School of Ecology / School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China text Zoosystematics and Evolution 2026 2026-04-27 102 2 701 718 journal article 315037 10.3897/zse.102.188045 3c88e6c4-9115-4d7f-8c75-e8a1b91a475e BBBE74AA-6A1C-400C-8EBC-BD84C1E22047

Table 4. Comparison of morphological characters of Calamaria incredibilis sp. nov. with those of congeners occurring in China and the Indo-Burma region. Symbols: (1) = Supralabials; (2) = Supralabials contacting orbit; (3) = Preocular (1 = present, 0 = absent); (4) = Mental touching chin shields (1 = yes, 0 = no); (5) = Number of scales contacting paraparietal; (6) = VEN in males; (7) = VEN in females; (8) = SC in males; (9) = SC (females); (10) = maximum TL (mm) in males; (11) = maximum TL (mm) in females; (12) = ratio TaL / TL (%) in males; (13) = ratio TaL / TL (%) in females; (14) = Tail: tapering (2), slightly tapered (1), or not (0); (15) = End of tail; (16) = Dorsal color; (17) = Ventrals color. Notes: n / a = not available.

Species	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Sources
C. incredibilis sp. nov.	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	170–182	n / a	21 – 23	n / a	243	n / a	8.2 – 8.4	n / a	2	obtuse point	reddish brown to dark brown with narrow dark longitudinal stripes	yellowish white	This study
C. abramovi	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	159	174	26	20	139	482	13.3	7.1	2	sharp point	uniform black	yellow-orange spots	Orlov et al. 2009
C. andersoni	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	164–172	186	20–23	14	351	312	8.8–9.2	5.8	0	obtuse point	brownish with faint narrow black lateral stripes	orange-yellow, immaculate	Yang and Zheng 2018; Zhang et al. 2025 b
C. annamensis	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	182	196–204	22	14–15	304	552	6.6	3.9–4.7	1	obtuse point	uniform dark brown to olive-brown	light orange to salmon with small black spots	Korolev et al. 2026
C. arcana	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	170–176	192	20–22	12	303	n / a	7.2–11.8	4.7	0	obtuse point	brownish	orangish-red, immaculate	Yeung et al. 2022; Zhang et al. 2023
C. berezowskii	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	149–155	153–171	22–25	12–16	290	245	6.6–10.5	6.5–6.9	0	obtuse point	blackish-brown or brown	light khaki or white	Inger and Marx 1965; Liang et al. 2024 a
C. buchi	4	2 / 3	1	1	5	n / a	221–236	n / a	13 – 14	n / a	466	n / a	3.9 – 4.1	1	obtuse point	blackish with small light spots	yellow, immaculate	Inger and Marx 1965; Ziegler et al. 2009
C. concolor	5	2 / 3	1	1	5	209	n / a	19	n / a	578	n / a	7.2	n / a	1	obtuse point	uniform orangish-red	bright red, immaculate	Orlov et al. 2010; Nguyen et al. 2025
C. dominici	4 or 5	2 / 3 or 3 / 4	1	1 or 0	6	n / a	174	n / a	17 or 18	n / a	421	n / a	6.2	1	obtuse point	dark with irregular yellow blotches	dark with few yellow blotches & bands	Ziegler et al. 2019
C. garoensis	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	165	185–187	27	12–16	225	278	14.2	4.8–5.5	0	obtuse point	dark brown to blackish-brown with three to six narrow longitudinal stripes	yellow, immaculate	Bharali et al. 2026
C. gialaiensis	4	2 / 3	1	1	5	191	n / a	23	n / a	457	n / a	8.1	n / a	0	rounded	light grayish-brown with a faint dark neck collar and a few dark blotches along the posterior vertebral region	yellowish beige, immaculate	Ziegler et al. 2009
C. jinggangensis	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	157–158	179	20	12	260	364	15	3.6	0	obtuse point	brownish black	dark orange	Darevsky and Orlov 1992; Cai et al. 2023; Zhang et al. 2024
C. lovii ingermarxorum	4	2 / 3	0	1	6	205	n / a	23	n / a	318	n / a	7.4	n / a	0	blunt	immaculate bluish-gray with light spots on four lateral neck scales	dark gray, immaculate
C. lumbricoidea	5	3 / 4	1	1	4 or 5	144–196	137–229	17–27	13–21	498	642	6.3–11.4	3.9–8.3	1	sharp point	black with narrow cream or yellow rings; head red or pink in juveniles	yellow with black ventral scales forming bands	Inger and Marx 1965
C. mizoramensis	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	147–155	166–175	22–27	13–15	251	258	10.3–13.1	4.7–6.5	0	obtuse point	dark brown to blackish-brown with three to six narrow longitudinal stripes	yellow, immaculate	Lalremsanga et al. 2026
C. nebulosa	4	2 / 3	0	0	6	n / a	179	n / a	22	n / a	354	n / a	7.9	0	obtuse point	bluish-gray	yellow, immaculate	Lee 2021
C. pavimentata	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	151	136	27	13	206	125	11.6	8	2	obtuse point	blackish-brown with narrow dark longitudinal stripes	yellowish white, immaculate	Duméril et al. 1854; This study
C. sangi	4	2 / 3	1	1	5 or 6	190	n / a	19	n / a	373	n / a	6.2	n / a	1	obtuse point	grayish-brown with fine dark mottling	cream with narrow dark transverse bands	Nguyen et al. 2009
C. schlegeli	5	3 / 4	1 or 0	0	5 or 6	129–161	136–180	25–44	19–37	391	395	11.1–21.3	7.3–14.4	0	blunt	immaculate gray or brown; head variably pink, yellow, and / or brown	cream, immaculate	Inger and Marx 1965
C. septentrionalis	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	148–166	168–188	15–19	6–11	344	384	6.3–8.6	2.6–4.3	0	broadly rounded	dark brown or black dorsally, usually with a narrow yellow ring about six to eight scales behind the head	yellow, with small black spots	Inger and Marx 1965
C. similis	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	145–155	168	20–23	15	187	154	6.4–9.3	6.1	2	obtuse point	reddish brown to dark brown with narrow dark longitudinal stripes	pale yellow	Qi et al. 2026
C. strigiventris	4	2 / 3	1	0	6	130–168	176–183	29–31	20–22	362	367	11.2–17.9	8.4–8.6	2	abruptly to point	uniform grey-brown	bright yellow with longitudinal black stripes	Poyarkov et al. 2019
C. synergis	4	2 / 3	1	0	5	161–166	n / a	20 – 23	n / a	284	n / a	6.6 – 9.2	n / a	0	obtuse point	blackish-brown	light khaki, immaculate	Zhang et al. 2025 a
C. thanhi	4	2 / 3	0	0	6 or 7	184	198	28	21	461	455	9.9	6.8	2	gradually to a point	dark with 4–6 light body bands	yellow, immaculate	Ziegler et al. 2005, 2007
C. yunnanensis	4	2 / 3	0	0	6	167–184	199	15–20	19	300	516	8.2–8.8	5.4–8.2	2	obtuse point	blue-gray to olive-brown	orange-yellow, immaculate	Lee 2021; Zhang et al. 2025 b