Toxicodryas vexator GREENBAUM, ALLEN, VAUGHAN, PAUWELS, WALLACH, KUSAMBA, MUNINGA, ARIS-TOTE, MALI, BADJEDJEA, PENNER, RÖDEL, RIVERA, STERKHOVA, JOHNSON, TAPONDJOU & BROWN, 2021
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Toxicodryas vexator
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Toxicodryas vexator GREENBAUM, ALLEN, VAUGHAN, PAUWELS, WALLACH, KUSAMBA, MUNINGA, ARIS-TOTE, MALI, BADJEDJEA, PENNER, RÖDEL, RIVERA, STERKHOVA, JOHNSON, TAPONDJOU & BROWN 2021 Toxicodryas vexator — PAUWELS & COLYN 2023 |
| Distribution | Democratic Republic of Congo (Katanga [Zaire]) Type locality: Mulisi, Nzovu Est, Kahuzi-Biega National Park (02.447291° S, 28.2825378° E, 1101 m), South Kivu Province, DRC. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. UTEP 22196 (field number MUSE 10341; Fig. 10), adult male, collected by Guillain M. Mitamba, Deo Kujirakwinja, Emmanuel Muhindo, Radar Nushili, Wandege M. Muninga, and Andrew J. Plumptre on 13 November 2015. Paratypes. UTEP 22195 (field number EBG 1362; Figs. 1B, 9C), adult female collected in the vicinity of Irangi (01.8780° S, 28.4524° E, 811 m), South Kivu Province, DRC, collected from a tree by a resident and brought to Maurice Luhumyo, Chifundera Kusamba, Mwenebatu M. Aristote, Wandege M. Muninga, and Eli Greenbaum on 30 August 2007; RBINS 2698 (formerly RBINS 8621) (field no. Leloup #27), adult male from Bunyakiri (2.075630° S, 28.573194° E, 1000 m), South Kivu Province, DRC, collected by Paul Leloup on 6 March 1958. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A species of Toxicodryas restricted to east-central and East Africa (east of the confluence of the Congo and Ubangi rivers), defined by the following combination of characters: maximum SVL > 1 meter (vs. maximum SVL < 1 meter in T. pulverulenta and T. adamanteus sp. nov.); DSRN 23–29 (vs. 19–21 in T. pulverulenta and 18–23 in T. adamanteus sp. nov.); DSRM 21–25 (vs. 19–21 in T. pulverulenta and 18–21 in T. adamanteus sp. nov.); cloacal plate divided or undivided (vs. usually divided in T. blandingii, and always undivided in T. pulverulenta and T. adamanteus sp. nov.); adult males glossy or velvety black with a yellow venter, and adult females light brown, gray, or yellowish-brown with light-brown or cream cross-bars on the flanks, with yellowish-brown venters (vs. both sexes brown to pink with darker cross-bars that often enclose a whitish spot, and the dorsum and venter sprinkled with fine dark brown or black spots in T. pulverulenta and T. adamanteus sp. nov.); hemipenis relatively short and massive (i.e., broad), proximal third covered with spines, distal two-thirds dimpled with a flattened apex (vs. relatively long with long spines mid-way along the shaft that decrease in size towards the apex and base, and with a domed apex in T. pulverulenta and T. adamanteus sp. nov.); venom toxicity LD50 = 4.88 mg/kg in mice (vs. venom toxicity LD50 = 2.85–3.55 mg/kg in mice for T. blandingii) (Greenbaum et al. 2021). Additional details (7372 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | For further references see Greenbaum et al. 2021 (not provided upon request). |
| Etymology | The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, invariable, from the Latin noun vexator, meaning harasser or stalker, in reference to the fact that this snake stalks prey when they are sleeping, and to its aggressiveness when disturbed. |
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