23. Oligodon tolaki

Amarasinghe, Henkanaththegedara, Campbell, Riyanto, Hallermann & Vogel, 2021

Publication :

Amarasinghe AAT, SM Henkanaththegedara, PD Campbell, A Riyanto, J Hallermann & G Vogel (2021). Description of a new Oligodon (Squamata: Colubridae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia, including redescriptions of O. waandersi and O. propinquus. Herpetologica 77 (2): 195–207.

Remarks :

We discovered Oligodon tolaki from Southeast Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. This species is allied to O. waandersi and O. propinquus living on the same island, but they occur in south-western and northern parts respectively. Oligodon tolaki is the third Oligodon species reported from Sulawesi and is endemic to that Island.

Etymology:
The specific epithet refers to the major ethnic group in Sulawesi, ‘‘Tolaki,’’ and is formed here as an invariable noun in apposition. The Tolaki tribe is mostly distributed in the Southeast Sulawesi where the new species is also found.

English name: Tolaki Kukri Snake