Dispholidus typus (Smith, 1828)

Baptista, Ninda L., António, Telmo & Branch, William R., 2019, The herpetofauna of Bicuar National Park and surroundings, southwestern Angola: a preliminary checklist, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 203) 13 (2), pp. 96-130 : 116

Dispholidus typus viridis (Smith, 1838)

Green Boomslang ( Fig. 24 )

Material: Two unlabelled bleached juvenile specimens in Carmira Farm’s private collection; one photographic record (L. Gata, CF).

Comment: Branch (2018) provides an overview of the two subspecies of boomslang existing in Angola, D. t. punctatus and D. t. viridis. These were shown to deserve full species status ( Eimermacher 2012), but this taxonomic adjustment requires further consensus. Neither scalation nor juvenile coloration allow assignment of the Carmira Farm specimens to either taxon, but the green coloration of a photographed adult ( Fig. 24 ) is consistent with D. t. viridis ( Eimermacher 2012), as are other material from Humbe. Resolution of species boundaries in Dispholidus and the assignment of Angolan populations requires further genetic studies.

Figures

Fig. 24. Dispholidus typus viridis, Carmira Farm (Photo by L. Gata).