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Natriciteres variegata (PETERS, 1861)

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Variable Marsh Snake 
SynonymMizodon variegatus PETERS 1861: 358
Tropidonotus variegatus — BOULENGER 1893: 217
Natrix variegata — ANGEL 1933: 75
Neusterophis variegatus — LOVERIDGE 1941: 120
Neusterophis variegatus — TAYLOR & WEYER 1958
Natriciteres variegata — LOVERIDGE 1958: 43
Natriciteres variegata — RÖDEL & MAHSBERG 2000
Natriciteres variegata — TRAPE & BALDÉ 2014
Natriciteres variegata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 475
Natriciteres variegata — SENTER & CHIPPAUX 2022 
DistributionS Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Gabon, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea (Conakry), Burkina Faso, Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Sudan (Jumhūriyyat)

Type locality: “Goldküste” [Ghana]  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: lost, was ZMB 2057, lost fide Hughes & Barry 1969: 1011 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (481 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: not listed explicitly by BROADLEY, DORIA & WIGGE (2003) for Zambia. Not in Gabon fide PAUWELS & VANDE WEGHE 2008. Reports from South Africa may represent N. sylvatica, previously a subspecies of N. variegata. Not in East Africa (i.e. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi fide S. Spawls, pers. comm., 28 June 2018). Not in Equatorial Guinea fide SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS et al. 2022.

Synonymy partly after BROADLEY & COTTERILL 2004.

Subspecies: Natriciteres variegata sylvatica BROADLEY 1966 and Natriciteres variegata bipostocularis BROADLEY 1962 have been elevated to species rank. Natriciteres variegata pembana (LOVERIDGE 1935) has been elevated to full species.

Habitat: at least partially coastal and thus considered (partially) “marine”. 
EtymologyApparently named after its variegated color pattern, i.e. the variable, irregular patches or bands. 
References
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • Böhme, Wolfgang, Mark-Oliver Rödel, Christian Brede & Philipp Wagner 2011. The reptiles (Testudines, Squamata, Crocodylia) of the forested southeast of the Republic Guinea (Guinée forestière), with a country-wide checklist. Bonn zoological Bulletin 60 (1): 35-61 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Branch, W.R. 2008. PROPOSED KALUKUNDI MINE (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO) - TERRESTRIAL FAUNA. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT (FINAL REPORT). A specialist report for Envirolution Consulting (Pty) Ltd., 83 pp.
  • Branch, W.R. & Rödel, M.-O. 2003. Herpetological survey of the Haute Dodo and Cavally forests, western ivory Coast, Part II: Trapping, results and reptiles. Salamandra 39 (1): 21-38 - get paper here
  • Branch, W.R.; Rödel, M.-O. & Marais, J. 2005. Herpetological survey of the Niassa Game Reserve, northern Mozambique - Part I: Reptiles. Salamandra 41 (4): 195-214 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • Broadley, D.G. 1966. A review of the genus Natriciteres Loveridge (Serpentes: Colubridae). Arnoldia 2 (35): 1-11
  • Chifundera, K. 1990. Snakes of Zaire and their bites. Afr. Stud. Monogr. (Kyoto) 10(3): 137-157.
  • Chippaux, Jean-Philippe & Kate Jackson 2019. Snakes of Central and Western Africa. Johns Hopkins University Press, 448 pp. [detaileld review in HR 51 (1): 161] - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • Chirio, Laurent and Ivan Ineich 2006. Biogeography of the reptiles of the Central African Republic. African Journal of Herpetology 55(1):23-59. - get paper here
  • Haagner,G.V.; Branch,W.R. & Haagner,A.J.F. 2000. Notes on a collection of reptiles from Zambia and adjacent areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Annals of the Eastern Cape Museum 1: 1 – 25
  • Hawlitschek, O.; F. Glaw & D. Rödder 2012. Pemba – Herpetologische Fundgrube im Indischen Ozean. Reptilia (Münster) 17 (97): 97-109 - get paper here
  • Hughes, B. 2013. Snakes of Bénin, West Africa. Bull. Soc. Herp. France 144: 101-159
  • HUGHES, B. 2017. NATRICIDAE: Natriciteres variegata (Peters 1861) Variegated Marsh Snake - VARIEGATED MARSH SNAKE IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND GABON. African Herp News (65): 33-34 - get paper here
  • Hughes, B. & Barry,D.H. 1969. The snakes of Ghana: a checklist and key. Bull. Inst. Franc. Afrique Noire A, 31: 1004-1041
  • JACOBSEN, N.H.G. 2009. A contribution to the herpetofauna of the Passendro Area, Central African Republic. African Herp News (47): 2-20 - get paper here
  • Leaché, Adam D.; Mark-Oliver Rödel, Charles W. Linkem, Raul E. Diaz, Annika Hillers, and Matthew K. Fujita 2006. Biodiversity in a forest island: reptiles and amphibians of the Togo Hills, Kyabobo National Park, Ghana. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 4 (1): 22-45 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1935. Scientific results of an expedition to rain forest regions in Eastern Africa. I. New reptiles and amphibians from East Africa. Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harvard 79: 1- 19. - get paper here
  • Loveridge,A. 1958. Revision of five african snake genera. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 119: 1-198 (141) - get paper here
  • Lyakurwa, J.V., Howell, K.M., Munishi, L.K., Treydte, A.C. 2019. Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve; a unique hotspot for reptiles in Tanzania. Acta Herpetologica 14 (1): 3-14 - get paper here
  • Lyakurwa, John Valentine 2017. The Reptiles of the Uzungwa Scarp Forest Reserve (USFR): An Updated Checklist with Notes on Dagger-Tooth Vine Snake Xyelodontophis uluguruensis. Journal of East African Natural History 106(2):57-65. - get paper here
  • Menegon, Michele; Nike Doggart, Nisha Owen 2008. The Nguru mountains of Tanzania, an outstanding hotspot of herpetofaunal diversity. Acta Herpetologica 3 (2): 107-127
  • Menzies, J.I. 1966. The snakes of Sierra Leone. Copeia 1966 (2): 169-179. - get paper here
  • PAUWELS, OLIVIER; LAURENT CHIRIO & WOUTER DEKONINCK. 2022. Diet records for snakes from Guinea, West Africa. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 57(6): 117–123. - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1861. Die Beschreibung von zwei neuen Schlangen, Mizodon variegatus aus westafrika und Bothriopsis quadriscutata. Monatsber. königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin. 1861 (März): 358-360 - get paper here
  • Rödel M O; Mahsberg D 2000. Vorläufige Liste der Schlangen des Tai-Nationalparks/Elfenbeinküste und angrenzender Gebiete. Salamandra 36 (1): 25-38 - get paper here
  • Segniagbeto GLazcano. H., Trape J. F., David P., Ohler A., Dubois A. & Glitho I. A. 2011. The snake fauna of Togo: systematics, distribution and biogeography, with remarks on selected taxonomic problems. Zoosystema 33 (3): 325-360. DOI: 10.5252/z2011n3a4 - get paper here
  • Senter, P. J., & Chippaux, J. P. 2022. Biogeography of snakes in Liberia: Review and synthesis of current knowledge. Ghana Journal of Science, 63(1), 29-62 - get paper here
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Taylor, Edward H.;Weyer, Dora 1958. Report on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from Harbel, Republic of Liberia. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 38 (14): 1191-1229 - get paper here
  • Trape, J.-F. 2023. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale, centrale et d’Afrique du Nord. IRD Éditions, Marseille, 896 pp.
  • Trape, J.-F. & Mané, Y. 2006. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale. Savane et désert. [Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger]. IRD Editions, Paris, 226 pp. - get paper here
  • TRAPE, JEAN-FRANÇOIS & CELLOU BALDÉ 2014. A checklist of the snake fauna of Guinea, with taxonomic changes in the genera Philothamnus and Dipsadoboa (Colubridae) and a comparison with the snake fauna of some other West African countries. Zootaxa 3900 (3): 301–338 - get paper here
  • Ullenbruch, K.; Grell, O.; Böhme, W. 2010. Reptiles from southern Benin, West Africa, with the description of a new Hemidactylus (Gekkonidae), and a country-wide checklist. Bonn Zool. Bull. 57 (1): 31-54 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
 
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