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Amblyodipsas concolor (SMITH, 1849)

IUCN Red List - Amblyodipsas concolor - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAtractaspididae (Aparallactinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Kwazulu-Natal Purple-glossed Snake 
SynonymChoristodon (Choristocalamus) concolor SMITH 1849: 18
Calamelaps ? concolor — BOULENGER 1896: 246
Calamelaps mironi MOCQUARD 1905
Choristocalamus concolor — DE WITTE & LAURENT 1947
Amblyodipsas (Choristocalamus) concolor — BROADLEY 1971
Amblyodipsas (Choristocalamus) concolor — PIENAAR 1978
Amblyodipsas concolor — WELCH 1994: 15
Amblyodipsas concolor — BOYCOTT 1992
Amblyodipsas concolor — WALLACH et al. 2014: 26
Amblyodipsas concolor — STANDER 2023: 251 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa (E Transvaal south to Durban)
Eswatini (Swaziland)

Type locality: "Kaffirland to the eastward of the Cape Colony." [=Natal fide Loveridge, 1944: 161].  
ReproductionViviparous 
TypesHolotype: NMSZ (formerly RSM, Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh) 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 679 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Habitat. Apparently restricted to moist, usually forested, regions. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin for uniform, similar in color, plain. Apparently because individuals are uniformly purple-brown to black. 
References
  • 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.
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, Vol. 3. London (Taylor & Francis), xiv + 727 pp. - get paper here
  • Boycott R C. 1995. Notes on the distribution and ecology of Amblyodipsas concolor (A. Smith, 1849) in Swaziland (Serpentes: Colubridae). AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 33 (4): 417-419. - get paper here
  • BOYCOTT, R. C. 2018. Further observations on the Natal Purple-glossed Snake Amblyodipsas concolor (Serpentes: Lamprophiidae) in eSwatini with an assessment of its regional status. African Herp News (68): 31-36 - 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
  • BOYCOTT, R.C. 2009. Amblyodipsas concolor. Size, defensive behaviour, and lepidosis. African Herp News (48): 20-21 - 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. G. 1971. A revision of the African snake genera Amblyodipsas and Xenocalamus. Occ. Pap. natl. Mus. Rhod. B4 (33): 629-697
  • Haacke, W.D. 1982. Further Notes on Reproduction and Distribution of the Natal Purple Gloss Snake, Amblyodipsas concolor. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (28): 24-25 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G.V. 1994. Geographical Distribution - Amblyodipsas concolor. African Herp News (21): 26-26 - get paper here
  • Pienaar, Uys de Villiers 1978. The Reptile Fauna of the Kruger National Park. Pretoria: National Parks Board of South Africa, i-vii, 222 S.
  • Reissig, J 2020. Amblyodipsas concolor (Kwazulu-Natal; Purple-Glossed Snake). Defensive Behavior/Death-Feigning. Herpetological Review 51: 608.
  • Rupert Wilkey & Sarah Nann 2025. Field Guide to the Snakes of Eswatini. Pelagic, 208 pp., DOI: 10.53061/FWDV3720 - get paper here
  • Smith, A. 1849. Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa. 3 (Reptiles). Smith, Elder, and Co., London [facsimile published by Winchester Press, Johannesburg, 1977] - get paper here
  • Stander, R.I. 2023. The Reptiles of the Limpopo Province and Kruger National Park. Herp Nomad, Polokwane, South Africa, 367 pp. - get paper here
  • Tolley, K.A., Conradie, W., Pietersen, D.W., Weeber, J., Burger, M. & Alexander, G.J. (eds) 2023. Conservation status of the reptiles of South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho. Suricata 10. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria
  • 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.
  • Witte, G. F. de & LAURENT,R.F. 1947. Revision d'un groupe de Colubridae africains: genres Calamelaps, Miodon, Aparallactus, et formes affines. Mém. Mus. Roy. Hist. Nat. Belgique (sér. 2) 29: 1-134 - get paper here
 
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