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Psammophis brevirostris PETERS, 1881

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Higher TaxaPsammophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Short-snouted Grass Snake 
SynonymPsammophis brevirostris PETERS 1881: 89
Psammophis breviceps PETERS 1881: 87 (in error for brevirostris)
Psammophis brevirostris — WERNER 1899
Psammophis brevirostris — STERNFELD 1910: 56
Psammophis sibilans brevirostris — AUERBACH 1987: 169
Psammophis sibilans brevirostris — BOYCOTT 1992
Psammophis sibilans brevirostris — BAUER et al. 1995: 73
Psammophis brevirostris — BROADLEY 2002
Psammophis brevirostris — SHINE et al. 2006
Psammophis brevirostris — WALLACH et al. 2014: 576
Psammophis brevirostris — SCHLEICHER 2020 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa (Eastern Cape etc.), Swaziland, KwaZulu-Natal, relict populations in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and E Namibia

Type locality: “Xa Matlale” [Matlale Mission, N Transvaal, Republic of South Africa]  
Reproductionoviparous. 
TypesLectotype: ZMB 7256 (designated by BROADLEY 1977) 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (945 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentTaxonomy: Werner 1902 described Psammophis brevirostris temporalis which may be a synonym of Psammophis sibilans brevirostris.

Distribution: see map in BROADLEY 2002: 91 (Fig. 5). Not in Angola (where it is replaced by other Psammophis) fide Marques et al. 2018. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “brevis, -e” = short and “rostrum” = beak, proboscis, trunk. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • BOURQUIN, O. & V. GRUENER 2017. A NOTE ON THE HERPETOFAUNA OF MODISA CAMP (BOTSWANA) AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. African Herp News (64): 9-26 - get paper here
  • BOYCOTT, R. C. 2018. Psammophis brevirostris (Peters, 1881). DIET. African Herp News (68): 43-48 - get paper here
  • Boycott, R.C. 1992. An Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Swaziland. The Conservation Trust of Swaziland - 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. & Blaylock 2013. The Snakes of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 387 pp. [book review in Sauria 35 (2): 59 and Copeia 2014: 388] - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 2002. A review of the species of Psammophis Boie found south of Latitude 12° S (Serpentes: Psammophiinae). African Journal of Herpetology 51 (2): 83-119 - get paper here
  • Conradie W and Branch WR. 2016. The herpetofauna of the Cubango, Cuito, and lower Cuando river catchments of south-eastern Angola. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10 (2) [Special Section]: 6–36 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • Jordaan, P.R., Steyl, J.C.A., Hanekom, C.C., Xander Combrink 2020. Fire-associated reptile mortality in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa. Fire Ecol (2020) 16: 3 - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1881. Herpetologische Mittheilungen (Excrescenzen des Männchens von Rana gigas Blyth in der Paarungszeit, Psammophis biseriatus und breviceps, Dinodon cancellatum Dum. Bibr. = Lycodon rufozonatus Cantor, Lycodon napei Dum. Bibr. = Lycodon striatus Shaw, bau des Schädels von Uraeotyphlus oxyurus (Dum. Bibr.). Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin 1881 (6): 87-91 - get paper here
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2020. Reptiles of Namibia. Kuiseb Publishers, Windhoek, Namibia, 271 pp.
  • Sternfeld, R. 1910. Zur Schlangenfauna Deutsch-Südwestafrikas. Mehrere Fälle von Mimikry bei afrikanischen Schlangen. Mitt. zool. Mus. Berlin, 5: 51-60 - 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
  • Venter, Jan A.; Werner Conradie 2015. A checklist of the reptiles and amphibians found in protected areas along the South African Wild Coast, with notes on conservation implications. Koedoe 57 (1): 1-25. doi: 10.4102/koedoe.v57i1.1247 - 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.
  • Werner, F. 1899. Ueber Reptilien und Batrachier aus Togoland, Kamerun und Deutsch-Neu-Guinea grösstentheils aus dem k. Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 49: 132-157 - get paper here
  • Witte, G. F. de 1933. Reptiles récoltés au Conge Belge par le Dr. H. Schouteden et par M. G.-F. Witte. Ann. Mus. Conge belge Zool. Ser. 1 Tome III: 53-100.
 
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