Atractaspis bibronii Smith, 1849

Santos, Bruna S., Marques, Mariana P., Bauer, Aaron M. & Ceríaco, Luis M. P., 2021, Herpetological results of Francisco Newton’s Zoological Expedition to Angola (1903 – 1906): a taxonomic revision and new records of a forgotten collection, Zootaxa 5028 (1), pp. 1-80 : 30

Atractaspis bibronii Smith, 1849

Material (one specimen): One adult specimen (MHNCUP/REP 321; Fig. S58 ), collected from Distrito de Mossamedes [=Moçâmedes] [-15.20000º, 12.15000º, 24 m a.s.l.] Namibe Province, date unknown .

Comments: Atractaspis bibronii is known from sub-Saharan Africa countries, ranging from Kenya and southern Somalia south to Zimbabwe, west to Angola, Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as eastern populations of South Africa and Eswatini ( Marques et al. 2018). Portillo et al. (2019), in a recent review of the evolutionary history of the subfamily Atractaspidinae , found that several lineages of A. bibronii differed significantly from each other and are likely to represent several cryptic species, which is not surprising given the species’ extensive geographic distribution. Shortly thereafter, Zaher et al. (2019) recognized Atractaspididae as a full family. Ferreira did not cite any specimen of A. bibronii .

Figures

FIGURE S58. Specimen of Atractaspis bibronii (MHNCUP/REP 321), from Moçâmedes. Photo by Bruna Santos.