Philothamnus semivariegatus (Smith, 1847)

Segniagbeto, Gabriel Hoinsoude, Trape, Jean François, David, Patrick, Ohler, Annemarie, Dubois, Alain & Glitho, Isabelle Adolé, 2011, The snake fauna of Togo: systematics, distribution and biogeography, with remarks on selected taxonomic problems, Zoosystema 33 (3), pp. 325-360 : 336

Philothamnus semivariegatus (Smith, 1847)

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 13 specimens ( MNHN 2006.2287 , GHS-W 0005 , Yo [ Agome Yo ]; MRAC 29505 , Niamtougou ; MRAC 29646 , Aledjo ; GHS-W 0209, GHS-W 0228, GHS-W 0242, GHS-W 0250, GHS-W 0266, GHS-W 0284, GHS-W 0288, Nangbeto ; GHS-W 0276, Lomé ; GHS-W 1283, Diguingue ; GHS- Togo 46, Agote ; GHS-Togo 81, Woume, near Kouma Tchamé) .

MORPHOLOGY. —TL from 768 to 1200 mm; 13-15 MSR, smooth and oblique; 171-214 Ven, keeled; 119-144 Sc, paired and strongly keeled; anal divided; 9 supralabials; 9-10 infralabials; 1 preocular; 2 postoculars; temporal scale formula 1 or 2 + 2 + 2 or 3.

DISTRIBUTION. — This species is common in the forested parts of Togo of ER III and V but is also found in other ecological regions. Previously it had been mentioned from Togo by Werner (1902), Sternfeld (1908b, 1909; from “Kete”, now Kete Kratchi but currently in Ghana), Loveridge (1958), Hulselmans & Verheyen (1970), Hulselmans et al. (1970), Roman (1984), Hughes (1985) and Leaché et al. (2006).

CONSERVATION STATUS. — Two specimens were exported from Togo in 2002 according to reports of the CITES Division of the DFC Togo.