Toxicodryas pulverulenta (Fischer, 1856)

Pauwels, Olivier S. G., Morelle, Stephan, Albert, Jean-Louis, Carlino, Piero, Rahola, Nil & Trape, Jean-François, 2019, New reptile records from Lékédi Park and Haut-Ogooué Province, southeastern Gabon, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 174) 13 (1), pp. 143-161 : 151

Toxicodryas pulverulenta (Fischer, 1856)

The first record of the species for Haut-Ogooué Prov. ( Christy et al. 2008) was based on the examination by OSGP of photos of an adult individual taken in 2007 by Paul Aczel near the camp of the Projet Protection des Gorilles (PPG) of the Aspinall Foundation in the northern part of Plateaux Batéké NP. An adult individual was found by SM on the evening of 10 August 2017 in the kitchen of the laboratory in Lékédi Park ( Fig. 22 ) and behaved very aggressively. It showed 21 dorsal scale rows at midbody. New record for the park and for the Dept. (not listed from the Dept. by Pauwels and Vande weghe 2008; Pauwels et al. 2017b,e). OSGP examined two specimens (RMCA 29892–29893) collected by M. Gauduin in 1969–1970 in ‘‘Munana, près de Moanda’’ [= Mounana near Moanda, in Lébombi-Léyou Dept.]. The above male and female specimens had their skulls removed, probably for osteological studies, but their head skin is present and generally in good condition, their tails are complete; part of the ventral skin missing in the second specimen. They show a widened vertebral row. Their temporal formula is 2+2 on each side. Their main diagnostic characters are presented in Appendix 1. X-rays revealed a small bird in the stomach of RMCA 29893. On 22 February 2018 JLA found a dead-on-road adult individual on the road to Amissa Hospital (Hôpital Amissa), Quartier Epila, at six km from the center of Franceville, Passa Dept. It showed (left side) one loreal, one preocular, two postoculars, 8(3-5) supralabials, 2+2 temporals; 2 pairs of sublinguals; an orange tongue; its total length was about 100 cm. New Dept. records. The variation in color, pattern and dorsal scale rows numbers within this species in Gabon requires further studies to assess if one or more species are involved.

Figures

Fig. 22. Adult Toxicodryas pulverulenta in Lékédi Park, Haut- Ogooué Prov., southeastern Gabon. Photograph by S. Morelle.