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Natriciteres olivacea (PETERS, 1854)

IUCN Red List - Natriciteres olivacea - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Olive Marsh Snake 
SynonymCoronella olivacea PETERS 1854: 622
Coronella (Meizodon) dumerilii GÜNTHER 1860
Enicognathus punctatostriatus JAN 1863
Enicognathus punctatostriatus — JAN 1866
Neusterophis atratus PETERS 1877: 614
Coronella olivacea — FISCHER 1884: 6
Zacholus olivaceus — ROCHEBRUNE 1884
Neusterophis atratus — GÜNTHER 1888: 333
Tropidonotus olivaceus — BOULENGER 1893: 227
Coronella olivacea — PFEFFER 1893: 79
Mizodon olivaceus — BOCAGE 1895
Tropidonotus olivaceus — BOULENGER 1897: 278 (?)
Tropidonotus olivaceus — FITZSIMONS 1912: 82
Tropidonotus olivaceus — STERNFELD 1917
Natrix olivaceus — SCHMIDT 1923: 58
Natrix olivacea — COTT 1928
Natrix olivacea uluguruensis LOVERIDGE 1935: 7 (fide BROADLEY 1966)
Neusterophis olivaceus uluguruensis LOVERIDGE 1951: 187
Natriciteres olivacea olivacea — LAURENT 1954: 44
Natriciteres olivacea — LOVERIDGE 1955
Natrix olivacea olivacea — BROADLEY 1959
Natrix olivacea uluguruensis — BROADLEY 1959
Natriciteres olivacea — BROADLEY 1966: 8
Natriciteres olivacea olivacea — PITMAN 1974
Natriciteres olivacea — AUERBACH 1987: 160
Natriciteres olivacea — BROADLEY 1998
Natriciteres olivacea — JACKSON et al. 2007
Natriciteres olivacea — WALLACH et al. 2014: 474
Natriciteres olivacea — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 539 
DistributionS Mozambique, Zimbabwe, N Botswana, Zambia, Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Congo (Brazzaville), Central African Republic, Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Namibia, Republic of South Africa (a single specimen in coastal KwaZulu-Natal), Chad, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Niger

Type locality: “Tette” [Mozambique]
Type locality: “Chinchoxo (Westafrika)” [Cabinda, Angola] [Neusterophis atratus]
Type locality: Nyanga, Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania [uluguruensis].  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 4803, MCZ R-19112
Holotype: ZMB 9177 [Neusterophis atratus PETERS 1877]
Holotype: MCZ 23117 [uluguruensis] 
DiagnosisDescription. Preocular 1 (rarely 2); postoculars 3 (rarely 2); temporals 1+2 (very
rarely 1 +3); upper labials 8 (very rarely 7 or 9), the fourth and fifth (very rarely third, fourth and fifth, fourth only, or fourth, fifth and sixth) entering the orbit; lower
labials 9-11 (rarely 8), the first 5 (rarely 4 or 6) in contact with the anterior sublinguals; dorsal scales smooth, in 19 rows anteriorly, reducing to 17 by fusion of rows III+IV (rarely IV+V) between ventrals 68-93 (49 in one); ventrals 130-149 in males, 130-153 in females; anal divided; subcaudals 63-84 in males, 51-75 in females (from BROADLEY 1966).

Coloration. Above, chestnut, olive, grey or blue-black, usually with a vertebral
band five scales wide which may be darker than the ground colour or a rich maroon
shade, this band is often bordered by series of minute white dots; upper labials yellow with black sutures; chin and throat white; ventrals yellow with the ends broadly bordered with olive, grey, red, mauve or pale blue (from BROADLEY 1966).

Description (uluguruensis). “Scales in 19 rows on nape immediately behind head, 17 rows at midbody, 17 rows at anus; ventrals 136; anal divided; subcaudals 74; labials 8, 4th and 5th entering the orbit; preocular 1; postoculars 3; temporals 1 + 2.” (Loveridge 1935) 
CommentSynonymy: mostly after LOVERIDGE 1958.

Habitat: semi-aquatic; at least partially coastal and thus considered (partially) “marine”.

Distribution: not in Liberia fide TRAPE & BALDÉ 2014: 320. For a detailed list of localities see LOVERIDGE 1958. Not in Sierra Leone fide TRAPE & BALDÉ 2014: 320. Records of Natriciteres fuliginoides from Burkina Faso and Niger (e.g. Roman 1980, 1984) actually represent misidentified olivacea (fide Trape & Mané 2006). Not in Equatorial Guinea fide SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS et al. 2022.


Type species: Coronella olivacea PETERS 1854 is the type species of the genus Natriciteres LOVERIDGE 1953.

Phylogenetics: for a phylogenetic analysis of Sub-saharan Natricine genera see Deepak et al. 2021. 
EtymologyThe name olivacea is formed from the Latin word oliva (olive tree) and refers to the characteristic olive color of this species. 
References
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