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Psammophis mossambicus PETERS, 1882

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Higher TaxaPsammophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Olive Whip Snake, Olive Grass Snake,
F: Psammophis olivâtre
G: Olivenfarbige Sandrennnatter, Mosambik-Sandrennnatter 
SynonymPsammophis sibilans var. mossambica PETERS 1882: 122
Psammophis sibilans var. tettensis PETERS 1882: 122
Psammophis sibilans var. intermedius FISCHER 1884: 14 (Arusha, Tanzania).
Psammophis irregularis — SAUVAGE 1884: 201 (not FISCHER)
Psammophis thomasi GOUGH 1908: 30
Psammophis sibilans var. occidentalis WERNER 1919: 504
Psammophis notostictus — WITTE 1933: 123 (not PETERS)
Psammophis notostictus — WITTE 1933: 93
Psammophis brevirostris — WITTE 1933: 123 (not PETERS)
Psammophis brevirostris — WITTE 1933: 93
Psammophis sibilans phillipsii — LOVERIDGE 1940: 41 (part)
Psammophis sibilans sibilans — BOGERT 1940: 79 (part) (not LINNAEUS)Psammophis sibilans sibilans — LOVERIDGE 1940: 30 (part)
Psammophis subtaeniatus — WITTE 1941: 212 (not PETERS) (part)
Psammophis subtaeniatus sudanensis — LAURENT 1956: 248 (part) (not WERNER)
Psammophis subtaeniatus sudanensis — PERRET 1961: 136
Psammophis subtaeniatus sudanensis —WITTE 1962: 117; 1975: 88
Psammophis sibilans phillipsii — WITTE 1962: 117 (part)
Psammophis sibilans phillipsii — PERRET 1961: 136
Psammophis sibilans phillipsii — BÖHME 1975: 40
Psammophis sibilans phillipsii — STUCKI-STIRN 1979: 434
Psammophis phillipsi — JOGER 1982: 331
Psammophis phillipsi — HUGHES 1983: 346, 353 (part)
Psammophis phillipsi — JOGER 1990: 97
Psammophis subtaeniatus — JOGER 1990: 97, Fig. 6 (Bangui, CAR)
Psammophis phillipsi — BROADLEY 1990: 486
Psammophis phillipsi occidentalis — HUGHES & WADE 2004
Psammophis mossambicus — BRANCH 1998: 92
Psammophis mossambicus — HAAGNER et al. 2000: 15
Psammophis mossambicus — HUGHES & WADE 2002: 77
Psammophis mossambicus — SPAWLS et al. 2002: 405
Psammophis mossambicus — BROADLEY 2002
Psammophis mossambicus — BROADLEY et al. 2003: 167, Pl. 110–1
Psammophis mossambicus — MARAIS 2004: 153
Psammophis phillipsi occidentalis — HUGHES & WADE 2004: 129, Fig. 1
Psammophis mossambicus — CIMATTI 2006
Psammophis occidentalis — CHIRIO & LEBRETON 2007: 532
Psammophis sp.1 — CHIRIO & LEBRETON 2007: 538
Psammophis mossambica — JACOBSEN et al. 2010
Psammophis mossambicus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 588
Psammophis mossambicus — BATES et al. 2014: 377
Psammophis occidentalis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 589
Psammophis mossambicus — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 434
Psammophis mossambicus — TRAPE et al. 2019: 73 
DistributionSE Nigeria, Cameroon, S Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, northeastern Namibia, N Botswana, Zimbabwe, Republic of South Africa (N Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal)

Type locality: Mozambique Island

occidentalis: Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, S Ivory Coast, S Ghana (Accra), S Togo, S Benin, S Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), Central African Republic, elevation 0-1200 m.; Type locality: Liberia.

Type locality: Congo.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: ZMB 2468A (designated by Broadley)
Lectotype: NMW 19245.2, female, designated by Hughes & Wade (2004: 129). [occidentalis] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2991 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: see map in BROADLEY 2002: 91 (Fig. 5). Country list after Trape et al. 2019. Not in Liberia fide Senter & Chippaux 2022.

Habitat. Moist savannas and grasslands, especially ri- parian habitats, swamps, reed beds and cultivated areas from sea level to 1,500 metres.

Synonymy: Mostly after Trape et al. 2019. Broadley (1977, 1983) has previously assigned this species to P. phillipsii (Hallowell), but Brandstätter (1995, PhD thesis) and Hughes (1999) consider P. phillipsii, a uniform olive form with an entire cloacal shield, to be restricted to West Africa, where it occupies forest clearings and moist savanna. Branch (1998) used the name P. mossambicus Peters; Broadley selected a lectotype in Berlin and this name is certainly applicable to the big Olive Whip Snake, but the first available name for this species may actually be P. irregularis Fischer, 1856, based on a specimen from Peki in eastern Ghana with a divided cloacal shield, which has extensive black dorsal patches on the anterior third of the body, decreasing posteriorly. Kelly et al. (2008) tentatively conclude that P. mossambicus is a synonym of P. phillipsi. P. p. occidentalis may include specimens some have identified as P. subtaeniatus sudanensis and others would include in P. rukwae.

See also P. phillipsi. 
EtymologyNamed after the type locality. The specific name occidentalis (Latin) refers to the western distribution of this species. 
References
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