Kladirostratus acutus (Günther, 1888)

Conradie, Werner, Baptista, Ninda L., Verburgt, Luke, Keates, Chad, Harvey, James, Júlio, Timóteo & Neef, Götz, 2021, Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 1: Serpentes (snakes), Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 292) 15 (2), pp. 244-278 : 266

Kladirostratus acutus (Günther, 1888)

Branch’s Beaked Snake ( Fig. 28 , Map 26)

Material: PEM R 23496, Cuanavale River source lake, Moxico Province, -13.09442° 18.89372°, 1,396 m asl; PEM R 23288, Cuanavale River source lake, Moxico Province, -13.09330° 18.89396°, 1,367 m asl; PEM R 23445–6, Cuando River Source Trap 1, Moxico Province, -13.00393° 19.12808°, 1,351 m asl; PEM R 23434–6, Cuando River Source Trap 2, Moxico Province, -13.00426° 19.12719°, 1,350 m asl; PEM R 23449–50, Cuando River Source Trap 3, Moxico Province, -13.00334° 19.13564°, 1,364 m asl; PEM R 23315, Cuito River Source Lake, Moxico Province, -12.66825° 18.35282°, 1,407 m asl; PEM R 27371, Quembo River bridge camp, Trap 1, Moxico Province, -13.528005° 19.281466°, 1,236 m asl; PEM R 23476, Quembo trap 1, Moxico Province, -13.13592° 19.04417°, 1,369 m asl; PEM R 23459, INBAC: WC-4726, Quembo trap 4, Moxico Province, -13.13586° 19.04709°, 1,368 m asl. Description: Dorsal scales smooth and in 17 rows at midbody; 170–189 smooth ventrals; 57–72 paired subcaudals; 1 preocular; 2 postoculars; temporals mostly 2+3; 8 supralabials, the 4 th and 5 th entering the orbit; 9 infralabials, the first five in contact with the anterior chin shield; cloacal scale divided. Largest specimen: 677 + 170 mm (male, PEM R 23315). Habitat and natural history notes: One specimen had some mammal hair in the stomach, while others contained frogs ( Hyperolius sp. , Breviceps ombelanonga , and Kassina senegalensis ). Comment: A widespread species recorded mostly from the Angolan plateau ( Marques et al. 2018). Manaças (1973) was the first to record this species from Moxico Province under the name Psammophis acutus . We recorded numerous new records for Moxico Province, and the new material formed the basis of the description of the new genus Kladirostratus ( Keates et al. 2019) . The status of K. a. jappi from adjacent Zambia, and whether its distribution extends into eastern Angola, still need to be clarified ( Broadley 1971).

Figures

Fig. 28. Kladirostratus acutus from Cuando River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.