Alopecion guttatum (SMITH, 1843)
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Alopecion guttatum
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| Higher Taxa | Lamprophiidae (Boaedontini), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Spotted Rock Snake, Spotted House Snake |
| Synonym | Lycodon guttatus SMITH 1843: 38 Alopecion annulifer DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 416 Alopecion annulifer — GÜNTHER 1858: 196 Boodon guttatus — BOULENGER 1891: 14 Boodon guttatus — BOULENGER 1893: 331 Boaedon guttatus — LOVERIDGE 1936 Boaedon guttatus — HEWITT 1937: 36 Boaedon guttatus — ROSE 1950: 276 Boaedon guttatus — ISEMONGER 1955: 68 Boaedon guttatus — FITZSIMONS 1962: 116 Lamprophis guttatus — BOYCOTT 1992 Lamprophis guttatus — KELLY et al. 2011 Boaedon guttatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 96 Alopecion guttatum — TIUTENKO et al. 2022 Alopecion guttatum — STANDER 2023: 274 |
| Distribution | Republic of South Africa (Cape Province, E Transvaal, Eswatini (Swaziland)), Namibia Type locality: beyond Kurrichane, Cape Colony. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Type: BMNH 1946.1.23.16 (and possibly additional specimens). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus and species): “Size small, usually not exceeding 600 mm in total length; body moderately elongated; tail moderate, 18–21% of total length; head of moderate size, in dorsal view egg-shaped or slightly isosceles trapezoidal, posteriorly much broader than neck, markedly depressed; snout blunt, in dorsal view square-shaped, slightly curved down in lateral view; eye moderate to large, with vertically elliptical pupil, capable of shrinking to a thin vertical streak; preocular 1; postoculars 2–3; temporals 1+2; rostral small, semi-circular, not visible or barely visible from above; upper labials 7, 3rd–5th in contact with eye; lower labials 7–9; anterior chinshields significantly (up-to two times) larger than posterior; gulars irregular or arranged in up-to 4 pairs between posterior chinshields and first ventral; midbody scale rows 21–23, vertebral row not enlarged; dorsal scales smooth, without apical pits; ventrals 186–230; subcaudals in 46–72 pairs; anal entire; maxilla with 15–17 teeth; 1st maxillary tooth short, approximately equal in length to the last; teeth 2–6 gradually increase in length up to the 5th which is about twice as long as the 2nd; a well-defined diastema after the 6th tooth, followed by 11–12 smaller teeth, gradually decreasing in length posteriorly; mandibular teeth increase in length from 2nd to 6th (which is the longest) then decrease to 8th which is followed by 11–15 shorter teeth gradually decreasing in length posteriorly; hemipenis not forked. Colour: regionally variable; basic dorsal pattern consists of blotches or spots, arranged in either alternating or adjacent pairs on yellow-brown or grey-brown background; venter off-white or pale-yellow, with occasional greyish spots.” (Tiutenko et al. 2022: 248) |
| Comment | Type species: Lycodon guttatus SMITH 1843: 38 is the type species of the genus Alopecion DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854. Distribution: for a map of the genus see Tiutenko et al. 2022: 258 (Fig. 12). |
| Etymology | Named after Latin guttatus, a, um, ‘spotted, speckled’, in reference to the spotted coloration of this taxon. The genus was named after Greek alopekia (ἀλωπεκία), mange in foxes, in which hair falls off; from there, alopecia, baldness. [“…De Αλωπεχιας, Alopécie, nom d’une maladie qui, faisant tomber le poil des animaux, rend leur peau lisse…"]. |
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