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One Mountain, Two Tigers: A New Species of Gloydius (Serpentes: Viperidae) from the Upper Lancang Valley in Xizang, China, with Comments on the Diagnostic Characters and Evolution of the G. strauchi (Bedriaga, 1912) Species Complex

Jinlong REN, Junjie HUANG, Wei WU, Ke JIANG, Jiatang LI

Abstract

The Hengduan Mountains Region (HMR) in China, a globally significant biodiversity hotspot, has garnered attention for its potential to harbor cryptic species within the Asian pit viper genus Gloydius Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981. Based on comprehensive morphological comparisons and molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Gloydius strauchi complex, this study identified a previously unrecognized species of Asian pit viper. Discovered in the upper Lancang (Mekong) hot dry valley of Xizang, China, this species is geographically proximate to G. huangi but exhibits clear morphological distinctions from other members of the genus, representing the second Gloydius species identified along the upper Lancang River. We describe here this new species and highlight the significance of skull and hemipenis morphology, which were instrumental in its diagnosis and in resolving taxonomic boundaries and ambiguities within the G. strauchi complex. This study provides insights into the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of this newly described species, enhancing our understanding of diversification patterns in this genus.

Read the paper here:

One Mountain, Two Tigers: A New Species of <italic>Gloydius</italic> (Serpentes: Viperidae) from the Upper Lancang Valley in Xizang, China, with Comments on the Diagnostic Characters and Evolution of the <italic>G</italic>. <italic>strauchi</italic> (Bedriaga, 1912) Species Complex

The right edge was a bit wonky on the previous version, so I decided to post a slightly updated version. I made the skull linger a bit more as well. I think it’s definitely an improvement on the previous version.

Irrelevant personal tangent under the cut

I’ve honestly been really happy so far with my forays into digital art and animation. I haven’t had much time to practise properly, so I’m not improving as fast as I would have liked, but nonetheless, it’s been fun.

I’m sort of in a bottle phase right now, so my next piece is probably going to be a ship in a bottle.

Still can’t do faces that well, unfortunately. anyways, here’s an attempt at the bug man. Literally did not even include his most iconic feature. I’m so busy rn, and there were definitely better ways I could have spent my time, but I can’t say I regret wasting it on this. As the saying goes, “it’s just so much fun, too much fun, oh come on”

Synthetic biology

Little 15 minute sketch I did. Idk who it’s supposed to be, since it’s from imagination, but my quick sketches usually look much worse, so I’m happy. Sorta reminds me of the face I image for an OC I haven’t drawn yet, so maybe it’s them.

I doodled this on the back of my laptop(pencil rubs off easily, so I haven’t ruined it or anything), since I didn’t have paper with me at the time. It was done in a few minutes, but I actually like the hat and I wanted to post something.

My attempt at drawing Elphelt Valentine from Guilty Gear Strive. I haven’t played the game and don’t plan to, but her theme has been encouraging and motivational for me even though I generally don’t tend to like metal as a genre(Although I have found a few songs I like. There’s no genre I dislike as a whole.)

This is the first time I’ve used my digital drawing software, so it’s definitely amateurish. I only used one layer and didn’t even attempt colouring. It also came out looking a bit unhinged. Nonetheless, I’m happy with it.

I remember seeing her video on this and being absolutely amazed by it.

YouTube

Frieda Lepold

Mixing historical Elements with modern Fabrics - usually for custom orders, but on this Channel I'm going to show you an inside look into my

Here’s her YouTube channel btw if ppl want to see.

Favourite Designs: Frieda Lepold "A Knights Dress" Haute Couture Gown

I tried to tag the post but warning: Frieren manga spoilers ahead:

I heard good things about Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End from some friends of mine, so I decided to read the manga. I ended up getting through the whole thing in a day. This was an attempt to paint Macht and Glück from the Golden Lands arc on one of the watercolour cards I was given. Honestly, I prefer the sketch to the finished piece. If anyone has advice on how to make the painting look better, I’d really appreciate it.

More thoughts on the manga and this piece under the cut.

Thoughts on the Manga:

Overall, I think it was beautiful and I really enjoyed it. I like the exploration of people finding meaning in long lives and the value of interactions and friendships with other people.

The demons themselves made a bit less sense to me, since although they canonically do not have many human emotions, they are shown expressing things like concern for other demons or demonkind, or other such emotions, even when humans were not present.

Although demons as a villain make sense as sort of a parallel to Frieren, who has been able to improve and find meaning through her connections with people, it does seem like a bit of a strange choice on a meta-level to have a species where the correct choice is always to kill them on sight (they don’t even need to eat humans, they just do because reasons I guess). That being said, I do disagree with people who view having demons as an “evil” fantasy race as inherently racist. I just think in this specific story, it can be clumsily handled at times.

Putting that aside, as a standalone case, I find the story of Macht and Glück very intriguing and well written. The characters are believable and have interesting interactions with each other, and it’s sort of sad that despite genuine effort, Macht’s psychology is just ultimately incompatible with peaceful coexistence with humans. Glück was also an interesting character. He was clever and used Macht’s goals to get what he wanted, but he knew what the outcome would ultimately be. All of his behaviours were knowingly evil in search of what he believed to be the greater good. Even when his plan for clearing out corruption succeeded, he achieved it through unforgivable means, and he was willing to accept the punishment he knew he deserved. His actions were “deals with the devil”.

My thoughts on this piece:

Unfortunately, I sort of fumbled it when painting Macht’s face. I’m really pleased how Glück came out, but the hair and the face on Macht were definitely weak spots here. As I mentioned above the cut, I much prefer how they looked in the sketch. If anyone has advice on how to do hair better, I’d really appreciate it. General watercolour advice or art critique would also be appreciated.

My first watercolour piece. It’s an attempt at the character Vernon from the D&D actual play series What’s Left of Us (if actual plays are your thing, I highly recommend it. I watch it on YouTube at Jaycorn’s channel, but I believe there’s also a twitch).