Psammophis leopardinus Bocage, 1887

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 : 32

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5028.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C678F0FE-1B62-4F34-8A66-449CF9806B50
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/B007F528-FFC7-FFCA-16D7-FE17FAC75D71
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Psammophis leopardinus Bocage, 1887
status

Treatment

Material (five specimens): One juvenile specimen (MHNCUP/ REP 171, formerly UP-MHNFCP-094982), collected from África Ocidental [Occidental Africa] (impossible to georeference), date unknown; one adult specimen (MHNCUP/ REP 173 View Materials , formerly UP-MHNFCP-094988; Fig. S65 View FIGURE S ), collected from Rio Coróca [-15.78333º, 12.06667º, 45 m a.s.l.] Namibe Province, in 1904 ; one adult specimen (MHNCUP/ REP 174 View Materials , formerly UP-MHNFCP- 094989), collected from unknow locality, date unknown ; two adult specimens (MHNCUP/ REP 176–177 View Materials , formerly UP-MHNFCP-017422 and 040697), collected from unknown locality, date unknown .

Comments: Psammophis leopardinus is found in dry savanna and semi-desert habitats of southwestern Angola, as well as central and northern Namibia ( Marques et al. 2018). It is currently treated as a full species ( Broadley 2002; Kelly et al. 2008; Wallach et al. 2014), after being initially described as a subspecies of Psammophis sibilans (Linnaeus, 1758) by Bocage (1887b). The aforementioned specimens were previously identified as “ P. sibilans ”, with the exception of MHNCUP/REP 171 which was labeled as “ P. sibilans leopardinus ”. Ferreira (1904) cited an unspecified number of adult and juvenile specimens of “Bocage’s var D.” of P. sibilans from “Cazengo”, “ Cabinda ” (in error, Newton did not travel to the Cabinda enclave) and “Chingo”. Trape et al. (2019) referred to the published specimens as P. leopardinus and noted that they were presumably lost in the MBL fire, which we here refute, whereas Marques et al. (2018) had previously treated them as Psammophis mossambicus Peters, 1882 .