| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Egyptian egg-eating snake, Baz’ egg-eating snake |
| Synonym | Dasypeltis bazi SALEH & SARHAN 2016
Dasypeltis scabra — ANDERSON 1898
Dasypeltis scabra — FLOWER 1933
Dasypeltis scabra — MARX 1968
Dasypeltis scabra — SALEH 1997
Dasypeltis scabra — REHÁK & OSBOURNE 1998
Dasypeltis scabra — BAHA EL DIN 2006.
Dasypeltis cf. scabra — SINDACO et al. 2013
Dasypeltis cf. scabra — GENIEZ 2015
Dasypeltis bazi — BATES & BROADLEY 2018: 18 |
| Distribution | Egypt (Faiyum)
Type locality: Abu-Gandir, Faiyum Governorate, Egypt (29°15’ 12’’ N, 30°40 ́35’’ E
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| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: AUZC R09458, adult female (Al Azhar University Zoological Collection), (Fig. 3 in Saleh & Sarhan 2016), Collected September 2009. Paratypes: Seven specimens, all collected in central Faiyum, in the general vicinity of the village of Ibshwai, Egypt (Tab. I). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A snake belonging to the genus Dasypeltis (elliptic vertical pupils, small head not demarked of the body, strongly keeled dorsal scales, the flank scales strongly serrated, all species highly specialized for eating bird eggs), characterized by a fewer, large dorsal rhombic blotches (38-49) and smaller lateral roundish blotches (not vertical baring-shaped as other species), by the no well-defined color pattern on the head and fewer dorsal scale rows. Frontal shield longer than wide (as long as wide in other species), temporals 2+3, the lowest first temporal greatly elongated, 1.5 to twice as long as upper temporal (only occasionally enlarged in D. scabra) and one preocular (from SALEH & SARHAN 2016). |
| Comment | This is the isolated Egyptian population previously referred to as D. scabra.
Mimicry: Appears to mimic Echis pyramidum which has a similar color pattern (Bates & Broadley 2018).
Diet: eggs; birds nesting in Faiyum whose eggs may be consumed by D. bazi include 32 species. Most of these birds breed from March through June, but some start in February, and a few breed until October (Saleh & Sarhan 2016).
Distribution: For a map see Sindaco et al. 2013. |
| Etymology | The species is named in honor of the late Dr. Mohamed Nour El-Din El-Baz who
contributed to an earlier version of this paper before his untimely death. |
| References |
- Anderson, J. 1898. Zoology of Egypt. Vol. l. Reptilia and Batrachia. B. Quaritch, London
- Baha el Din, S. 2006. A guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo. xvi + 359 pp.
- Bates, M.F. & D.G. Broadley 2018. A revision of the egg-eating snakes of the genus Dasypeltis Wagler (Squamata: Colubridae: Colubrinae) in north-eastern Africa and south-western Arabia, with descriptions of three new species. Indago 34 (1): 1-95 - get paper here
- Chippaux,J.P. 2006. Les serpents d’Afrique occidentale et centrale. Paris (IRD editions), 311 pp.
- Corkill N.L. 1935. Notes on Sudan snakes. A guide to the species represented in the collection in the Natural History Museum, Khartoum. Sudan Government Natural History Museum (Natural History), Publication No. 3. 40 p
- Flower,Stanley 1933. Notes on the recent reptiles and amphibians of Egypt, with a list of the species recorded from that kingdom. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1933: 735-851 - get paper here
- Gans, C. 1959. A taxonomic revision of the African snake genus Dasypeltis (Reptilia: Serpentes). Annales du Musée Royal du Congo Belge Tervuren 74: ix + 237 pp.
- Geniez, P. 2015. Serpents d’Europe, d’Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient. Editions Delachaux et Niestlé, 379 pp. [English translation published in 2018] - get paper here
- Largen,M.J. & Rasmussen,J.B. 1993. Catalogue of the snakes of Ethiopia (Reptilia Serpentes), including identification keys. Tropical Zoology 6: 313-434 - get paper here
- Loveridge, A. 1956. On snakes collected in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by J.S. Owen, Esq. Sudan Notes Rec. 36: 37-56 [1955]
- Marx,Hymen 1968. Checklist of the reptiles and amphibians of Egypt. Spec. Publ. U.S. Nav. Med. Res. Unit 3: 1-91
- Rehák I. & Osborne D.J. 1998. Notes on the distribution of reptiles and amphibians in Egypt. Věstník Ceskoslov. Spolecn. Zool., 52: 271-277
- Saleh, M.A. 1997. Amphibians and reptiles of Egypt. National Biodiversity Unit, Al Azhar University, Cairo, 232 pp
- SALEH, Mostafa & Moustafa SARHAN 2016. The egg-eating snake (Colubridae: Dasypeltis) of Faiyum, Egypt, with the description of a new species. Bull. Soc. Herp. France 160 : 25-48
- Sindaco, R.; Alberto Venchi & Cristina Grieco 2013. The Reptiles of the Western Palearctic, Volume 2: Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Snakes of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, with an Update to Volume 1. Edizioni Belvedere, Latina (Italy), 543 pp. - get paper here
- Spawls, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch& Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here
- Stejneger, L. 1893. On some collections of reptiles and batrachians from East Africa and the adjacent islands, recently received from Dr. W. L. Abbott and Mr. William Astor Chanler, with descriptions of new species. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 16: 711-741 - get paper here
- Trailin V. 2012. Herpetology of Ethiopia – Eritrea and adjacent territory. Online only - get paper here
- TRAPE Jean-François and Youssouph MANÉ 2006. Le genre Dasypeltis Wagler (Serpentes : Colubridae) en Afrique de l’Ouest : description de trois espèces et d’une sous-espèce nouvelles. Bull. Soc. Herp. France 119: 27-56 - get paper here
- Trape, J.F.; Trape, S. & Chirio, L. 2012. Lézards, crocodiles et tortues d'Afrique occidentale et du Sahara. IRD Orstom, 503 pp. - get paper here
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