Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Barotse Water Snake |
Synonym | Crotaphopeltis barotseensis BROADLEY 1968 Crotaphopeltis barotseensis — AUERBACH 1987: 185 Crotaphopeltis barotseensis — RASMUSSEN 1997 Crotaphopeltis barotseensis — BROADLEY et al. 2003: 207 Crotaphopeltis barotseensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 199 Crotaphopeltis barotseensis — CONRADIE et al. 2021 |
Distribution | Zambia, N Botswana (Okavango Swamp, along Chobe River to upper Zambezi River), Angola
Type locality: Kalabo, Barotseland, Zambia.
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Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: FMNH 134249, an adult female collected 24 March 1962 by Mr. Richard G. Japp (field number 1216). |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis. A form of Crotaphopeltis differing from other species in the genus by having the upper postocular separated from the supraocular by a forward prolongation of the parietal, which· enters the orbit. Dorsal scale rows 17-17-13: both hotamboeia and degeni normally have 17-19-15 rows, although the former may have 21 rows anteriorly (ruiziensis Laurent, 1963), while tornieri normally has 17- 17 -15 rows (Loveridge, 1933). In barotseensis and degeni the dorsal scales are smooth, glossy and iridescent, but in hotamboeia and tornieri the posterior dorsals are feebly keeled. The head of barotseensis is narrower than in the other forms, with a high rostral and no expansion in the temporal region. |
Comment | |
Etymology | Named after the type locality. |
References |
- Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
- Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
- Branch, William R.; Pedro Vaz Pinto, Ninda Baptista, and Werner Conradie 2019. The Reptiles of Angola: History, Diversity, Endemism and Hotspots. Chapter 13 in: B. J. Huntley et al. (eds.), Biodiversity of Angola. Springer Verlag, pp. 283-334 - get paper here
- 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.; Doria, C.T. & Wigge, J. 2003. Snakes of Zambia. An Atlas and Field Guide. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 280 pp. [review in Sauria 26 (3): 21]
- Broadley, Donald G. 1968. A new species of Crotaphopeltis (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Barotseland, Zambia. Fieldiana. Zoology 51 (10): 135-139 - get paper here
- CONRADIE, WERNER; NINDA L. BAPTISTA, LUKE VERBURGT, CHAD KEATES, JAMES HARVEY, TIMOTEO JULIO & GOTZ NEEF. 2021. Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 1: Serpentes (snakes). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 15(2): 244–278. - get paper here
- Engelbrecht, Hanlie M. 2017. The radiation and biogeography of snakes across south-eastern Africa with respect to the evolution of the savanna biome. PhD thesis, Stellenbosch University, - get paper here
- Rasmussen, J.B. 1997. On two little-known African water snakes (Crotaphopeltis degeni and Crotaphopeltis barotseensis). Amphibia-Reptilia 18: 191-206 - 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.
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