Philothamnus macrops (Boulenger, 1895)

Bittencourt-Silva, Gabriela B., Bayliss, Julian & Conradie, Werner, 2020, First herpetological surveys of Mount Lico and Mount Socone, Mozambique, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 247) 14 (2), pp. 198-217 : 211

Philothamnus macrops (Boulenger, 1895)

Large-eyed Green Snake

Material. MOUNT LICO (top): PEM R 23950 ( Fig. 4K–L ). Identification. This snake is easily distinguished from any other Philothamnus species occurring in Mozambique by having a lower number of midbody scale rows (13 versus the usual 15 in other species) and a divided anal scale ( Branch et al. 2019b). The closest match on GenBank is P. macrops from Mount Mabu, Mozambique (98% sequence similarity; MH 756442). Comments. Found active on the forest floor near a stream eating a leaf litter frog ( Arthroleptis sp. ). Branch et al. (2019b) provide a full historical overview of this species for Eastern Africa and discuss the first records for Mozambique.

Figures

Fig. 4. Reptiles from Mount Lico and Mount Socone, northern Mozambique. (A) Agama kirkii; (B) A. mossambica; (C) Chamaeleo dilepis; (D) Rhampholeon tilburyi; (E) Trioceros melleri; (F) Platysaurus maculatus; (G) Lygodactylus sp.; (H) Melanoseps ater; (I) Panaspis aff. maculicollis; (J) Dasypeltis scabra; (K–L) Philothamnus macrops; (M–N) Naja subfulva; (O) Boaedon fuliginosus.