A new species of the genus Hebius Thompson, 1913 is described from Yingjiang County, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, based on molecular and morphological evidence. It can be distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: (1) dorsal scale rows 19–17–17, feebly keeled; (2) ventrals 146–151; (3) nasal complete, nostril in the middle of the nasal; (4) supralabials 9, the fourth to sixth in contact with the eye; (5) infralabials 10–11, the first 5 touching the first pair of chin shields; (6) preoculars 2; (7) postoculars 3; (8) temporals 3, arranged in two rows (1+2); (9) maxillary teeth 31, the last 4 slightly enlarged, without diastema; (10) tail comparatively long, TAL/TL ratio 0.334 in the male; (11) dorsolateral series of irregular orange or ochre yellow blotches, extending from the neck to the posterior part of the tail; and (12) venter pale orange, tips of ventrals with subrectangular black blotches. All Hebius specimens were strongly recovered as monophyletic, in which Hebius taronensis (Smith, 1940) and Hebius venningi (Wall, 1910) were monophyletic as sister to the Yingjiang County specimens. According to the p‐distance of cytochrome b, the new species differs from its congeners by 9.7–15.4%.

Albinism is an uncommon phenomenon and inherited condition in animals characterized by a partial or complete lack of melanin. The family Xenodermidae Gray, 1849, is a group of caenophidian snakes widely distributed in South, East, and Southeast Asia, including five recognized genera and 36 species. However, there are currently no reports of albinism in any species in Xenodermidae. Achalinus sheni Ma, Xu, Qi, Wang, Tang, Huang & Jiang, 2023 was first described based on five male specimens from Loudi City and Nanyue District, Hunan Province, China. At the time, there were no descriptions on female individuals. In this study, we report in detail a collected albinistic specimen of A. sheni, which is the first discovery of wild albinism in the family Xenodermidae. We also provide photographs and descriptions of the first three female specimens of A. sheni and extend the diagnosis of this species.

Achalinu ningshanensis (Yang, Huang, Jiang, Burbrink, and Huang, 2022) was first described in Ningshan County, Shaanxi Province, China in 2022, based on seven female specimens. In this study, based on phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA (12S), 16S ribosomal RNA (16S), cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1), cytochrome b (cyt b) gene fragments, and morphological examinations of specimens, we revise the taxonomic status of A. ningshanensis, and provide additional data on this species. The molecular phylogeny indicated that A. ningshanensis is nested in a highly supported monophyletic group, forming a sister taxon to A. spinalis, and is divided into two well-supported lineages, A and B, with an uncorrected p-distance between lineages from 3.6 to 4.3% for CO1. Therefore, we proposed that Lineage B from western Sichuan and southwestern Shaanxi is a new subspecies, Achalinus ningshanensis occidentalis ssp. nov., and Lineage A from southern Shaanxi and northeastern Sichuan is allocated as Achalinus ningshanensis ningshanensis. Morphologically, the new subspecies can be distinguished from its congeners, especially from Achalinus ningshanensis ningshanensis, by the following characteristics: (1) the tail is relatively short, with a TAL/TL ratio of 0.202–0.226 in males, and 0.155–0.178 in females; (2) there are two pairs of chin-shields; (3) there are 21–22 maxillary teeth; (4) the length of the suture between internasals is significantly shorter than that between prefrontals, with an LSBI/LSBP ratio of 0.502–0.773; (5) there are six supralabials, with the fourth and fifth in contact with the eye; (6) there are five to six infralabials, and the first to third or fourth touches the first pair of chin-shields; (7) there is one hexagonal loreal, with an LorH/LorL ratio of 0.612–1.040; (8) the two anterior temporals are in contact with the eye; (9) there are 155–160 ventrals in males, and 165–174 in females; (10) there are 60–65 subcaudals in males, and 49–53 in females, which are not paired; and (11) the dorsum is iridescent and uniformly charcoal black, lacks a longitudinal vertebral line, and has a dark brown or dark gray ventral area.

Scincella potanini was long considered the only species of the genus Scincella recorded in Guizhou Province, China. This study describes a new species of the genus Scincella, Scincella qianicasp. nov., from Guizhou, China, based on an integrative taxonomic approach combining molecular and morphological data. The new species can be distinguished from all known congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: (1) medium body size in adults (SVL length up to 44.8 mm); (2) tail relatively long, TAL/SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 in original tail specimens; (3) toes not in contact with fingers when limbs adpressed; (4) infralabials six to seven; (5) supraciliaries six, rarely seven; (6) tympanum deeply sunk, without lobules; (7) primary temporal one; (8) three pairs of nuchals; (9) midbody scale row counts 26; (10) paravertebral scale row counts 61–66; (11) ventral scale row counts 46–53; (12) 9–10 enlarged lamellae beneath finger IV, and 13–14 beneath toe IV; (13) dark dorsolateral stripes with relatively straight upper edge, extending from the tip of snout to the end of tail, with 1/2+4+1/2 rows of dorsal scales in the middle; (14) ventral surface covered with discontinuous black longitudinal stripes. In the phylogenetic analyses, the new species was nested within a highly supported lineage, forming a sister taxon with S. alia, and exhibits at least 15.8% genetic divergence from other congeners based on the mitochondrial CO1 gene.

The Fansipan ground skink, Scincella fansipanensis Okabe, Motokawa, Koizumi, Nguyen, Nguyen & Bui, was recently described from Fansipan Mountain, Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam. Herein, we report the first national record of this species from China, based on four specimens collected from Ailao Mountain, Jingdong Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province. Morphologically, the Chinese specimens are consistent with the type series, but differ slightly in possessing a higher number of ventral scales (including gulars) and relatively shorter fore-limbs. Phylogenetic analyses, based on CO1 sequences, place the Chinese specimens within the S. fansipanensis clade; however, uncorrected p-distances of 6.5–7.3% between the Chinese and Vietnamese populations suggest moderate genetic divergence. This level of differentiation may reflect historical isolation by the Red River Basin's complex topography and the low dispersal ability of Scincella species. This record raises the number of the genus Scincella species known from China to 15.

Calamaria andersoni Yang & Zheng, 2018, was originally described from a single adult male collected in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Until now, no female specimens had been reported, limiting understanding of sexual dimorphism and diagnostic variation. Based on newly collected material from Mangshi City and Lianghe County, we identified five males and one female as C. andersoni through morphological comparisons and mitochondrial cytochrome b gene analysis. We provide the first morphological description of the female and revise the species diagnosis based on both sexes. The female is distinguishable by a higher number of ventrals and fewer subcaudals. Genetic data confirmed all specimens as belonging to a well-supported clade of C. andersoni , which is 9.8–10.1% divergent from C. yunnanensis . The known distribution of the species is extended to lower elevations (1,185–1,315 m a.s.l.) within tropical evergreen forests of Dehong. Given its relatively broad elevational range and occurrence in mature forests but no apparent population threats, we propose its conservation status as Least Concern (LC) under IUCN criteria. These findings provide new insight into sexual dimorphism, distribution, and species-level boundaries in Calamaria , emphasising the importance of continued surveys in underexplored montane regions of Yunnan and adjacent northern Myanmar.