Prosymna lisima CONRADIE, KEATES, BAPTISTA & LOBÓN-ROVIRA, 2022
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Prosymna lisima
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| Higher Taxa | Prosymnidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Kalahari Shovel-snout snake Portuguese: Cobra-de-focinho-de-pá-do- kalahari |
| Synonym | Prosymna lisima CONRADIE, KEATES, BAPTISTA & LOBÓN-ROVIRA 2022: 121 Prosymna angolensis — BROADLEY 1971: 82 (in part) Prosymna angolensis — BROADLEY 1980: 512 (in part) Prosymna angolensis — BROADLEY et al. 2003: 187 (in part) Prosymna angolensis — PIETERSEN et al. 2021: 97 Prosymna angolensis — CONRADIE et al. 2021: 265 |
| Distribution | EC Angola (Moxico), W Zambia, NE Namibia (Zambezi Region) Type locality: Cuito River source lake (-12.68866, 18.36025, 1426 m a.s.l.), Moxico Province, Angola |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: PEM R23512, male, collected by Werner Conradie and James Harvey on 26 November 2016. Paratypes (five males). PEM R27381, collected from Quembo River lower bridge (-13.526579, 19.278096, 1248 m a.s.l.), Moxico Province, Angola by Werner Conradie, Chad Keates and Timóteo Júlio on 27 November 2019; PEM R23457–8, collected from Quembo River source (-13.13586, 19.04709, 1368 m a.s.l.), Moxico Province, Angola by Werner Conradie on 3 November 2016; PEM R23483, Cuando River source (-13.00164, 19.1296, 1372 m a.s.l.) Moxico Province, Angola by Werner Conradie and James Harvey on 17 November 2016; PEM R23510, collected from Cuito River source lake (-12.68866, 18.36025, 1426 m a.s.l.), Moxico Province, Angola by Werner Conradie and James Harvey on 26 November 2016. Paratypes (two females). PEM R23456, collected from Quembo River source (-13.13586, 19.04709, 1368 m a.s.l.), Moxico Province, Angola by Werner Conradie on 3 November 2016; PEM R23511, Cuito River source lake (-12.68866, 18.36025, 1426 m a.s.l.), Moxico Province, Angola by Werner Conradie and James Harvey on 26 November 2016. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The new species differs from other Prosymna in the following characters: rostral sharply depressed and angular (vs. rounded in P. visseri); presences of a single band-like internasals (vs. paired internasals in P. somalica, P. bivittata, P. sudevalli, P. lineata); dorsal scales smooth (keeled in P. janii); midbody scale rows 15–17 (vs. 19–21 in P. pitmani); 6 supralabials, with 3rd and 4th entering orbit (vs. 5 supralabials, with 2nd and 3rd entering orbit in P. meleagris and P. greigerti); single apical pits on dorsal scales (vs. paired apical pits in P. ruspolii); lower number of ventral scales in both sexes (116–129 vs. 153–199 in P. frontalis); dorsum with dark black spots (vs. scarlet head and dark body in P. ornatissima; uniform dark brown to grey in P. ambigua and P. stuhlmanni). It further differs from its closest congener, P. angolensis, in having two post oculars (vs. one), dorsal large black blotches mostly fused (vs. mostly small paired dorsal grey to black spots), postorbital bone present (vs. absent) and by the presence of four to five well-developed palatine teeth (vs. three reduced teeth). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The name lisima is derived from the locally spoken Luchaze language in the region of the type locality meaning ‘source’. The full phrase used, ‘Lisima Lwa Mwondo’, is translated as “source of life”. This is a reference to central Angola, a high rainfall area where some of the most important rivers in Angola arise. This water makes it its way to the Okavango Delta, sustaining wildlife and local communities in Angola, Namibia and Botswana. |
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