Dispholidus typus (Smith, 1828)

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 : 256

Dispholidus typus viridis (Smith, 1828)

Boomslang ( Fig. 11 , Map 9)

Material: PEM R 23346, Village Fio, 30 km north of Menongue ( DOR), Cuando Cubango Province, -14.05786° 17.46992°, 1,445 m asl; PEM R 23542, EN140 north of Menongue ( DOR), Cuando Cubango Province, -14.05786° 17.46992°, ~ 1,504 m asl; PEM R 23519, Quembo River source, Moxico Province, -13.11452° 19.02469°, 1,512 m asl. Description: Dorsal scales elongated and keeled, in 18–19 rows at midbody; 174–186 ventrals; 116 paired subcaudals; 1 preocular; 2 postoculars; temporals 1+2; 7 supralabials, with 3 rd and 4 th entering the orbit; 10 infralabials, the first five in contact with the anterior chin shield; cloacal scale divided. Largest female: 804 + 228 mm ( PEM R 23346); largest male: 233 + 89 mm ( PEM R 23519). Habitat and natural history notes: Juvenile specimen found in mature Miombo. Comment: This is a common and widespread venomous species of snake throughout most of Africa, and comprises numerous forms (D. t. typus , D. t. viridis, D. t. punctatus, and D. t. kivuensis). The Angolan material is often restricted to two subspecies, D. t. punctatus (mostly northern Angola) and D. t. viridis (mostly southern and central Angola; see Marques et al. 2018; Baptista et al. 2019a). The elevation of these two forms to full species was proposed in the unpublished thesis by Eimermacher (2012), but awaits formal publication. The new material can be assigned to D. t. viridis based on uniform coloration and higher subcaudal scale counts.

Figures

Fig. 11. Juvenile Dispholidus typus viridis from Quembo River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.