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Psammophis elegans (SHAW, 1802)

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Higher TaxaPsammophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesPsammophis elegans univittatus PERRET 1961
Psammophis elegans elegans (SHAW 1802) 
Common NamesE: Elegant Sand Racer 
SynonymColuber elegans SHAW 1802: 536
Psammophis elegans — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 894
Psammophis elegans — STERNFELD 1917
Psammophis elegans — LOVERIDGE 1940: 17
Psammophis elegans — RÖDEL et al. 1999
Psammophis elegans — CHIRIO 2009
Psammophis elegans — WALLACH et al. 2014: 576

Psammophis elegans univittatus PERRET 1961
Psammophis elegans univittatus — BÖHME 2014: 164
Psammophis elegans univittatus — TRAPE 2015: 44 
DistributionSenegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Gambia (HÅKANSSON 1981), Ivory Coast (RÖDEL et al. 1999), Cameroon, S Mauritania, Guinea (Conakry), Burkina Faso, Togo, S Niger, Sierra Leone, Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Sudan (Jumhūriyyat)

univittatus: Cameroon (Savane du Nord, Garoua, Maroua)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesTypes: BMNH 1946.1.8.10-11 (and possibly additional specimens).
Holotype: MHNG, 1 female; Zidim, 50 km W de Maroua; Paratype: ZFMK 25464 [univittatus] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1347 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: The status of Psammophis elegans univittatus remains unclear (Trape 2015: 44). This taxon is characterized by a single vertebral brown line, and lacking those usually present on the flanks in elegans. See Loveridge 1940 for an extensive synonymy pre-1940. 
EtymologyThe name elegans (Latin) means tasteful, choice, fine, select or elegant and appears to refer to the color pattern or body shape. 
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
  • 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
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  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • Duméril, A. M. C., Bibron, G. & DUMÉRIL, A. H. A., 1854. Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie, comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris, Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret: i-xii + 781-1536 - get paper here
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  • Rödel,M.O.; Kouadio,K, & Mahsberg,D. 1999. Die Schlangenfauna des Comoé-Nationalparks, Elfenbeinküste: Ergänzungen und Ausblick. Salamandra 35 (3): 165-180 - 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
  • Segniagbeto, G. H., Dekawole, J. K., Ayoro, J. H., Ketoh, G. K., Sinsin, B., Dendi, D., & Luiselli, L. 2024. SPECIES RICHNESS AND VARIATION IN THE COMMUNITY COMPOSITION OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN FOUR SITES OF THE DAHOMEY GAP IN BENIN, WEST AFRICA. European Journal of Ecology, 10, 49-62 - get paper here
  • Segniagbeto, G.H.; Dekawole, J.K.; Ketoh, G.K.; Dendi, D.; Luiselli, L. 2022. Herpetofaunal Diversity in a Dahomey Gap Savannah of Togo (West Africa): Effects of Seasons on the Populations of Amphibians and Reptiles. Diversity 14: 964
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  • Trape J-F and Mané Y. 2015. The snakes of Niger. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 9(2) [Special Section]: 39–55 (e110) - get paper here
  • Trape, J.-F. 2023. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale, centrale et d’Afrique du Nord. IRD Éditions, Marseille, 896 pp.
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  • 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
  • Trape, Jean-François; Mané, Youssouph 2000. Les serpents des environs de Dielmo (Sine-Saloum, Sénégal). Bull. Soc. Herp. France 95: 19-35 - get paper here
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  • 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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