Psammophis jallae Peracca, 1896

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

Psammophis jallae Peracca, 1896

Jalla’s Sand Snake ( Fig. 29 , Map 27)

Material: PEM R 23523, just west of Cuanavale River source ( DOR), Moxico Province, -13.01347° 18.81669°, 153 m asl. Description: Dorsal scales smooth and in 15 rows at midbody; 176 smooth ventrals; 97 paired subcaudals; 1 preocular; 2 postoculars; temporals 2+3+3; 7 supralabials, the 3 rd and 4 th entering the orbit; 9 infralabials, the first four in contact with the anterior chin shield; cloacal scale divided. Female: 460 + 191 mm ( PEM R 23523). Habitat and natural history notes: Single specimen collected DOR with adjacent open grassland. The specimen had an Ichnotropis sp. in its stomach. Comment: This is only the second record of the species for Angola. The only other record from Angola is from Lumuna River ( Angel 1921). Marques et al. (2018) incorrectly assigned the material from Bigondo and ‘Benguella to Bihe,’ recorded by Loveridge (1940), to P. jallae , when in fact it actually refers to the P. ansorgii material reported by Boulenger (1905; see Branch et al. 2019). The former locality is not mentioned in Boulenger (1905), but Monard (1937b) implied that it originated from Boulenger (1905). At that stage, Loveridge (1940) regarded P. ansorgii as a junior synonym of P. jallae . Later, Broadley (1977) reinstated both as valid species. Loveridge (1940) also synonymized Angel’s (1921) P. rohani with P. jallae , and this was followed by subsequent authors ( Broadley 1977).

Figures

Fig. 29. Psammophis jallae from west of Cuanavale River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.