NATRICIDAE Bonaparte, 1840

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 : 349

Family NATRICIDAE Bonaparte, 1840

Afronatrix anoscopus (Cope, 1861) ( Fig. 9 )

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 10 specimens ( MNHN 2006.2201 - 2202 , GHS-W 0015, and GHS-Togo 07, Agave; GHS-W 0626, GHS-W 0689, Yegue; GHS-W 1281, Diguingue; GHS-Togo 34, GHS-Togo 64, Agote, T 207 , Sodo-Zion) .

MORPHOLOGY. — TL of our specimens between 160 and 750 mm; 20-22 MSR, scales keeled; 140-148 Ven; 51-81 Sc, paired; anal divided; 8 or 9 supralabials; 9-11 infralabials; 2 preoculars; 2 postoculars; 2 or 3 suboculars; temporal scale formula: 1 + 2 + 3 or 4. We have examined a specimen ( GHS-W 0015) with the anal entire, which is not a character diagnostic of this species.

DISTRIBUTION. — This species is largely aquatic. It can often be seen hunting amphibians on the banks of streams in forested areas. This species, very common in ER II and IV, had previously been mentioned from forested areas of Togo by Werner (1902), Sternfeld (1908b, 1909: 11; from Missahohe and Atakpame), Hulselmans & Verheyen (1970), Hulselmans et al. (1970, 1971) and Leaché et al. (2006).

Figures

FIG. 9. — Afronatrix anoscopus (Cope, 1861), Akloa. Photo by G. Segniagbeto.