Python natalensis Smith, 1840

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 : 254

Python natalensis Smith, 1840

Southern Rock Python ( Map 5 )

Material: Quembo River, -13.48626° 19.24775°, 1,243 m asl (sighting only); Quembo River, -13.93008° 19.41776°, 1,198 m asl (sighting only); Cuando River, -13.46214° 19.54561°, 1,229 m asl (sighting only); 10 km south of Cuanavale River source, approx. -13.17192° 18.85896°, 1,544 m asl (sighting only). Additional photographic record: Cuatir, Cuando Cubango Province, -16.48523° 18.20304°, Stefan van Wyk. Habitat and natural history notes: Specimens were sighted sunning themselves next to main rivers.

Comments: Three species of pythons are known from Angola ( P. anchietae , P. sebae , and P. natalensis ; Branch 2018; Marques et al. 2018). We assigned our material to P. natalensis based on head coloration and scalation ( Broadley 1984, 1999). This species is widespread south of -10° latitude, approximately the latitude of the lower Cuanza River in Angola. This is the largest snake species occurring in the study area, but it was seldom encountered. Although it is considered as a protected species in Angola (Decreto Executivo No. 201/16, 26 de Abril de 2016), we observed a python being cooked in a hunter’s camp, 10 km south of the Cuanavale River source (Chris Boyes, pers. comm.). Pythons are often found in the local Angolan markets or sold on the side of the road in the form of live animals, fresh meat, smoked meat, and leather products ( Marques et al. 2018; Gonçalves et al. 2019).

Figures

Map 5. Distribution of Python natalensis in Angola.