摘要Previous phylogenetic analyses ot DNA sequence data reveal a likely new species ot Elaphe Fitzinger from China,which forms the sister group of all extant Elaphe.One of the three original specimens is crushed and the other two are neonates,which precludes a morphological analysis.Three adult snakes (2 females,1 male) collected from Jiangzha Hot Spring in Zoige County,Sichuan,China on 26 July 2010 now facilitate the species' description.Mitochondrial DNA nucleotide sequences of cytochrome b (cyt b),NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4),12S ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA),and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) from the adults are identical to sequences from the crashed specimen.Interspecific uncorrected p-distances of partial CO1 gene of 26 sequences from all 11 species of Elaphe,including this new species,are large (8.5-15.2％).This new species is morphologically distinguished from all other species of Elaphe by several characters:“M”-shaped marking on the supraoculars and adjacent frontal; four parallel series of red-brown spots on the dorsum extending from the neck to the vent; four longitudinal stripes associated with the spots; each spot is usually compósed of a whole (or incomplete) red-brown scale with puce borders; spots of each stripe are similar in shape,they occur at relatively regular intervals of one or two scales,and they are slightly red-brown in color; and it has three preoculars,whereas all other specie's have one or two.Now Elaphe contains 11 species and this discovery highlights the need for continued exploration of temperate regions.