Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia (Laurenti, 1768)

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 : 255

Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia (Laurenti, 1768) White-lipped Snake ( Fig. 8 , Map 7)

Material: PEM R 23301, HALO Menongue, Cuando Cubango Province, -14.66317° 17.66521°, 1,372 m asl; PEM R 23349–50, small tributary source lake 6 km SE of Cuito River source, Moxico Province, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,446 m asl; PEM R 23532, EN280 West of Menongue, Cuando Cubango Province, -14.67908° 17.19325°, 1,415 m asl; PEM R 27361–9, INBAC: WC-7063, Lake Hundo, Moxico Province, -14.97431° 21.62966°, 1,100 m asl. Description: Dorsal scales smooth anteriorly and weakly keeled posteriorly, and in 19 rows at midbody; 139–158 ventrals; 31–41 paired subcaudals; 1 preocular; 2 postoculars; temporals 1+2; 8 supralabials, the 3 rd –5 th entering the orbit; 10 infralabials, first five in contact with the anterior chin shield; cloacal scale entire. Largest female: 465 + 66 mm ( PEM R 27361); largest male: 485 + 76 mm ( PEM R 23532). Habitat and natural history notes: Specimens were found in grassland associated with large water sources, and these populations lack the red/orange lip coloration typical of snakes found further south. Five specimens had frogs ( Hyperolius angolensis or Kassina senegalensis ) in their stomachs. Comment: A common and widespread species in Angola ( Marques et al. 2018). Surprisingly, a recent study showed only shallow genetic divergences among C. hotamboeia across its range ( Engelbrecht et al. 2019).

Figures

Fig. 8. Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia from west of Menongue. Photo by Luke Verburgt.