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Snakes of the natricid genus Trachischium Günther, 1858 are distributed in the southern Himalayas. Due to their secretive nature and fossorial habits, their taxonomy, evolution, and ecology remain poorly understood. Based on a multilocus molecular phylogeny and morphological comparisons we explored Trachischium systematics. Results indicated that all representatives of Trachischium form a strongly supported clade with their close relatives in Blythia, and that Blythia is nested within Trachischium. Therefore, we suggest that Blythia is synonymous with Trachischium. Molecular data and morphological comparisons revealed cryptic diversity within Trachischium, and thus we describe one new species from China while also excluding T. guentheri and T. tenuiceps from the Chinese fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lycodon gammiei (Blanford, 1878), a rarely encountered species of Asian snake, is characterized by ambiguous systematics and biology. Based on a sole specimen of L. gammiei rediscovered in southeastern Xizang, China, we conduct a detailed morphological examination and description, and investigate the systematic position of this species. Morphologically, the newly collected specimen is closely aligned with specimens previously described. Mitochondrial DNA-based phylogenetic analyses reveal that L. gammiei constitutes an independent evolutionary lineage, forming a clade with L. fasciatus (Anderson, 1879), L. gongshan Vogel & Luo, 2011, L. butleri Boulenger, 1900, and L. cavernicolus Grismer, Quah, Anuar, Muin, Wood & Nor, 2014. The closest genetic distance between L. gammiei and its congeners was 10.2%. The discovery of L. gammiei in Medog County, China, signifies an eastward expansion of its known geographical distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]