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Homoroselaps dorsalis (SMITH, 1849)

IUCN Red List - Homoroselaps dorsalis - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAtractaspididae (Atractaspidinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Striped Harlequin Snake, Striped Dwarf Garter Snake 
SynonymElaps dorsalis SMITH 1849: 21 (appendix)
Poecilophis dorsalis — GÜNTHER 1859: 88
Homorelaps [sic] dorsalis — BOULENGER 1896: 410
Homoroselaps dorsalis — WELCH 1994: 65
Homoroselaps dorsalis — BOYCOTT 1992
Homoroselaps dorsalis — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007
Homoroselaps dorsalis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 335
Homoroselaps dorsalis — STANDER 2023: 261 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa, Eswatini (Swaziland)

Type locality: "Kaffirland, and the country towards Port Natal, southern Africa."  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: nondesignated, location unknown (not present in RSM or BMNH fide FitzSimons, 1937: 264). 
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 1420 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentThis genus is a sister taxon to Atractaspis and has therefore been assigned to the Atractaspididae by NAGY et al. 2005. Previously the genus Homoroselaps has been assigned to the Elapidae. 
EtymologyPresumably named after Latin dorsalis (of the back), relating to the dorsal stripe. 
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. 1992. An Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Swaziland. The Conservation Trust of Swaziland - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Günther,A. 1859. On the genus Elaps of Wagner. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1859: 79-89 - get paper here
  • McDowell, S.B. 1968. Affinities of the snakes usually called Elaps lacteus and E. dorsalis. Zool. J. Linnean Soc. 47: 561-578 - get paper here
  • Nagy, Zoltán Tamás; Nicolas Vidal, Miguel Vences, William R. Branch, Olivier S.G. Pauwels , Michael Wink and Ulrich Joger 2005. MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS OF AFRICAN COLUBROIDEA (SQUAMATA: SERPENTES). African Biodiversity: Molecules, Organisms, Ecosystems. Proc. 5th Intern. Symp. Trop. Biol., pp. 221-228 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • 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
  • Spawls, S., Branch, B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Blandford, London, 192 pp.
  • Spawls, S., Branch, B. 2020. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Bloomsbury, London, 336 pp. - 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
  • 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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