Diagnosis |
This relatively small species (up to 49 cm TL) is distinguished by the following set of characters: a relatively long snout, preoral length 4.7-5.1% TL; head length 19.3-19.9% TL, precaudal length 79.7-82.6% TL; short interdorsal space 12.2-13.9% TL; anal fin height 2.5-3.0% TL; comparatively long anal fin length 9.7-10.8 % TL and anal fin base-length 8.2-9.1% TL; adult claspers elongate, broad base, tapering moderately from base to tip; adult male claspers with outer length 7.2-9.0% TL, clasper base width 20.2-22.5% of clasper outer length; clasper glans covering more than half length of entire clasper; enlarged tab on cover rhipidion, which is moderately large, concealed predominantly by large cover rhipidion and exorhipidion; pseudosiphon over half length of cover rhipidion; large pseudopera; narrow clasper tip and of moderate width, bluntly pointed. Total vertebral 147-153 (N=16); precaudal counts 95–99 (n=16). Color pattern dominated by broad brownish saddles and transverse bands on tan/light brown background; prominent dark brown to black spots and white spots on dorsal and lateral surfaces.; dark brown to black spots concentrated predominantly on saddle margins and as irregular transverse lines in inter-saddle spaces; decreasing in number post second dorsal fin; significant numbers of small to medium sized white spots are found along entire length of animal; white spots increasing in concentration towards posterior end of animal (Ref. 75152).
Comparison: this species has posteroventally sloping dorsal fins; lower precaudal vertebrae count and smaller adult size when compared to A. baliensis, A. marmoratus and A. macleayi; it differs from A. fasciatus, the species with the most morphological similarities, in having a larger anal fin, lateral denticles with prominent shallow depressions, claspers of adult males with a cover rhipidion without an obvious notch and with prominent white spots and fewer, smaller black spots (Ref. 75152). |