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Philothamnus occidentalis BROADLEY, 1966

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Western Natal Green Snake 
SynonymPhilothamnus natalensis occidentalis BROADLEY 1966: 419
Philothamnus natalensis occidentalis — BRANCH & HANEKOM 1987
Philothamnus natalensis occidentalis — BOYCOTT 2015
Philothamnus natalensis occidentalis — BATES et al. 2014: 418
Philothamnus occidentalis — ENGELBRECHT et al. 2018 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa (Western Cape to Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, NE Free State, W Swaziland, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, N Gauteng, NW Province).

Type locality: Camperdown, Natal (=Camperdown, KwaZulu-Natal), approximately 50 km west of Durban  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NMZB (formerly UM = Umtali Museum) 4554, an adult female, collected by B. G. Donnelly on 4th October, 1962; paratypes: PEM 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (n=64): A south-western race, differing from the typical form in its smooth subcaudals. Description (Paratype variations in parenthesis). Preocular 1 (2 in 2 Transvaal snakes); postoculars 2 (3 in 1 Transvaal snake); temporals 2 +2 (rarely 1 + 1, 1 + 2, 2 + 1 or 2 + 3); upper labials 8 (8 — 9), the fourth and fifth (or fifth and sixth; fourth, fifth and sixth in a Greytown snake) entering the orbit; lower labials 10 (8—11), the first five (3-6) in contact with the anterior sublinguals. Dorsal scales smooth, in 15—15—11 rows, scale row reduction formula: 15 [V+VI (94)/V + VI (92)] 13 [III+IV (99)/III + IV (100)] 11 supracaudals smooth; ventrals 173, keeled laterally (♂♂ 154-167, mean 161.7 ± 0.6; ♀♀ 158-177, mean 167.7 ± 1.0); anal divided; subcaudals 120, smooth (♂♂ 119—135, mean 125.4 ± 1.0; ♀♀ 111-123, mean 117.8 ± 0.8). Dentition of holotype (cleaned skull) maxillary 24, increasing in size posteriorly; palatine 16; pterygoid 32; dentary 20. (Broadley 1966)


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Comment 
EtymologyThe specific name occidentalis (Latin) refers to the western distribution of this species. 
References
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Boycott, Richard C. 2015. Philothamnus natalensis occidentalis Broadley, 1966, Western Natal Green Snake, Reproduction. African Herp News (62): 23-25 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. & Hanekom, N. 1989. The herpetofauna of the Tsitsikamma Coastal and Forest National Parks. Koedoe (Pretoria), 30 (1987): 49-60. - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1966. A review of the Natal green snake, Philothamnus natalensis (A.Smith), with a description of a new subspecies. Ann. Natal Mus. 18 (2): 417-423.
  • CONRADIE, WERNER; WILLIAM R. BRANCH, & GILLIAN WATSON 2019. Type specimens in the Port Elizabeth Museum, South Africa, including the historically important Albany Museum collection. Part 2: Reptiles (Squamata). Zootaxa 4576 (1): 001–045 - get paper here
  • Engelbrecht, H.M., Branch, W.R., Greenbaum, E., Alexander, G.J., Jackson, K., Burger, M., Conradie, W., Kusamba, C., Zassi-Boulou, A-G., Tolley, K.A. 2018. Diversifying into the branches: species boundaries in African green and bush snakes, Philothamnus (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 130: 357-365 - get paper here
  • Reeves, B., Brooke, C. F., Venter, J. A., & Conradie, W. 2022. The Reptiles and Amphibians of the Mpofu-Fort Fordyce Nature Reserve Complex in the Winterberg Mountains, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. African Journal of Wildlife Research, 52(1) - get paper here
  • Tolley KA, Telford NS, Makhubo BG, Power RJ, Alexander GJ 2023. Filling the gap: Noteworthy herpetological discoveries in North West Province, South Africa. Zoosystematics and Evolution 99(1): 101-116 - get paper here
 
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