A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS Oligodon FITZINGER, 1826 (REPTILIA: COLUBRIDAE) FROM SOUTHERN LAOS

A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826, is described based on two specimens originating from Champasak Province in southern Lao PDR. This species differs from congeners occurring in the Indochinese Region by possessing 15 dorsal scale rows at midbody, an unforked hemipenis, an entire cloacal plate, a relatively low number of ventral plates (150–159), and a dorsal pattern made of 29–30 pale (cream in life or pale yellowish-brown in preservative) crossbands on the body that are narrowly edged with blackish-brown. We compare the new species with other species of the Indochinese Peninsula and China that also have 15 dorsal scale rows, especially O. inornatus (Boulenger, 1914) and O. kampucheaensis Neang, Grismer & Daltry, 2012. Finally, we provide an updated list of the Oligodon species of Laos and an identification key to these species.