New records and an updated list of snakes from Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam

Ha Tinh Province, located in the northern side of the Truong Son Range of Vietnam, one of four biodiversity centres of Vietnam, harbours a large area of 313,023 hectares of natural forest. However, the biodiversity of this Province is poorly studied, in particular the snake fauna. Previous studies reported a total of 44 species of snakes from this Province, including two recently described species, Achalinus quangi and Lycodon duytan . As a result of our field surveys in April 2025, a total of 25 species of snakes were recorded from Vu Quang National Park. Six of them are recorded for the first time from Ha Tinh Province ( Boiga guangxiensis , Gonyosoma coeruleum , Rhabdophis nigrocinctus , Bungarus slowinskii , Hebius boulengeri and Pseudoxenodon bambusicola ). In addition, we provide morphological descriptions and ecological notes of the aforementioned species.