New Species of Toxicocalamus (Squamata: Elapidae) from Papua New Guinea

Abstract

I describe two distinctive new species of elapid snakes of the genus Toxicocalamus from the southeastern end of Papua New Guinea. The first species, T. mintoni sp. nov., is unique within the genus in having the frontal fused with the supraoculars. It is a fairly gracile species of uniformly light-brown coloration and is known from only a single specimen from central Sudest Island. The second species, T. pachysomus sp. nov., is unique in its combination of having a distinct preocular unfused with the prefrontal, the internasal in contact with the preocular, the second supralabial in contact with the nasal, and paired subcaudals. Its stout habitus is unique within the genus, and its small eye is also distinctive. This species too is known from only a single specimen from the Cloudy Mountains, the southeasternmost portion of the island of New Guinea. Milne Bay Province, which is comprised of the southeastern extremity of New Guinea and its adjacent offshore islands, is a center of diversity for the genus Toxicocalamus, with five of 11 species in that genus endemic to that province.