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Philothamnus irregularis (LEACH, 1819)

IUCN Red List - Philothamnus irregularis - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Northern Green Bush Snake, Irregular Green Snake
G: Grüne Sumpfschlange 
SynonymColuber caeruleus LACÉPÈDE (not LINNAEUS) 1789
Coluber azureus BONNATERRE 1790 (nom. oblitum)
Coluber caesius CLOQUET 1818
Coluber irregularis LEACH 1819: 494
Dendrophis chenoni REINHARDT 1843
Leptophis Chenonii — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 545
Leptophis Chenoni — BOCAGE 1866: 48
Philothamnus irregularis var. longifrenatus BUCHHOLZ & PETERS 1875: 199
Philothamnus irregularis — FISCHER 1881: 229
Ahaetulla irregularis — SCLATER 1891: 36
Chlorophis irregularis — BOULENGER 1894: 96
Chlorophis irregularis — BOULENGER 1897: 278
Chlorophis irregularis — STERNFELD 1917
Chlorophis irregularis — PARKER 1932: 219
Coluber vernayi FITZSIMONS 1932: 38 (fide BOGERT 1940)
Chlorophis irregularis — MONARD 1940: 176
Philothamnus irregularis — LOVERIDGE 1955
Philothamnus irregularis irregularis — LOVERIDGE 1958: 85
Philothamnus irregularis irregularis — PITMAN 1974
Philothamnus irregularis — HUGHES 1985
Philothamnus irregularis — RÖDEL et al. 1999
Philothamnus irregularis — BÖHME et al. 2011: 59
Philothamnus irregularis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 556
Philothamnus irregularis — SCHLEICHER 2020 
DistributionEthiopia, Chad, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Senegal, Gambia (HÅKANSSON 1981), Ivory Coast (Rödel et al. 1999), Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Sierra Leone, Liberia

Type locality: Ashanti, Gold Coast.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesTypes: BMNH 1965.641 (and possibly additional specimens).
Syntypes: ZMUC-R 601925, 601926, and 60617 [Dendrophis chenoni] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1493 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: partly after LOVERIDGE 1958: 85. Meirte (2013) proposed to conserve the name Philothamnus irregularis; Coluber irregularis Leach is a junior primary homonym of Coluber irregularis Bechstein, 1802 = Boiga irregularis. ICZN Opinion 328 already suppressed the senior synonym Coluber caesius Cloquet, 1818.

Distribution: Not listed as such by BROADLEY & POYNTON 1998 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire). Not listed for Botswana by AUERBACH 1987. Not in East Africa (i.e. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi fide S. Spawls, pers. comm., 28 June 2018 but probably there fide Chippaux & Jackson 2019). Not in Angola fide Marques et al. 2018 but near the border in DRC (Chippaux & Jackson 2019). The majority of Angolan literature records for Philothamnus irregularis are probably referable to P. angolensis or P. hoplogaster, two species with which it has commonly been confused (Hughes 1985). See map in Chippaux & Jackson 2019: 351 (Fig. 13.72).

Subspecies: Philothamnus irrgularis battersbyi has been elevated to species status.

Habitat: fully arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). 
References
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  • Barnett, Linda K. & Emms, Craig 2005. Common reptiles of The Gambia. Rare Repro, Hailsham, East Sussex, 24 pp.
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  • 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
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  • Broadley, D.G. 1957. Snakes of Southem Rhodesia. 2. The Northern Green Snake, Philothamnus irregularis irregularis (Leach). Afr. Wild Life 11: 53-55.
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