Psammophis cornusafricae ŠMÍD, FERNÁNDEZ, ABDIRAHMAN ELMI & MAZUCH, 2023
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Psammophis cornusafricae
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| Higher Taxa | Psammophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: African Horn Sand Snake Somali: Subxaanyo [pronounced Subhanyo] |
| Synonym | Psammophis cornusafricae ŠMÍD, FERNÁNDEZ, ABDIRAHMAN ELMI & MAZUCH 2023 Psammophis biseriatus — CALABRESI 1927 (in part) Psammophis biseriatus — SCORTECCI 1939a Psammophis biseriatus — SCORTECCI 1939b Psammophis biseriatus tanganicus — LOVERIDGE 1940 (in part) Psammophis biseriatus — LANZA 1983 (in part) Psammophis biseriatus tanganicus — LANZA 1990 (in part) Psammophis tanganicus — LARGEN & RAMUSSEN 1993 (in part) Psammophis tanganicus — BRANDSTÄTTER 1996 (in part) Psammophis biseriatus — REGNOLI et al. 2003 (in part) Psammophis sp. — VIDAL et al. 2008 Psammophis tanganicus — LARGEN & SPAWLS 2010 (in part) Psammophis tanganicus — WALLACH et al. 2014 (in part) Psammophis sp. — TRAPE et al. 2019 Psammophis tanganicus — BOUNDY 2020 (in part) Psammophis sp. — KEATES 2021 |
| Distribution | Somalia Type locality: Somalia, Bari Region, Heela Spring, 11 km NW (by road) of Baargaal (11.371°N, 51.0412°E), elevation 77 m above sea level |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: MVZ:Herp:242772 (sample code TP28431; Fig. 6), subadult, sex unknown; collected by T. J. Papenfuss on June 29, 2003. Paratype: MVZ:Herp:242773, adult, sex unknown; same collection data as holotype. Other material. NMP-P6V 76373 (sample JIR510; Fig. 7; MorphoBank accessions: M851260–M851339), subadult female (sex confirmed by genetics); Somaliland, 8.5 km S of Yuffleh (10.3°N, 47.182778°E), elevation 1758 m above sea level; collected by T. Mazuch on September 5, 2017 (ŠMÍD et al. 2023) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A Psammophis species sister to P. tanganicus, with the following combination of morphological characters: 11 infralabials; 9 supralabials, three of which are in contact with the eye; nostril pierced between two equal sized nasals; 15 anterior dorsals; 14–15 midbody dorsals; 11 posterior dorsals; 146–158 ventrals; 95–100 subcaudals. Body brown, grey or beige with only a faintly visible pale vertebral stripe but with well pronounced dorsolateral orange stripes on each side of the body. Tail with only a slight trace of or completely lacking any dark vertebral stripe; the posterior half of the tail uniformly pale yellow. Venter white to yellowish with a conspicuous stipple of irregular dark smears. Head dorsally with a symmetrical pattern of brown markings outlined by black margins which contrast with the grey or beige background coloration. Labials white with dark margins forming a black lip. Dark brown temporal stripe outlined by black blotches and stretching from the eye to the posterior end of the head. (ŠMÍD et al. 2023) |
| Comment | Distribution: See map in ŠMÍD et al. 2023: 357 (Fig. 8). Similar species: Psammophis biseriatus, P. tanganicus. |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality. The name means “The Sand Snake of the Africa’s Horn”. It is a noun in the genitive case that is derived from the Latin words for horn (cornu-us) and Africa (Africa-ae). |
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