Psammophis afroccidentalis TRAPE, BÖHME & MEDIANNIKOV, 2019
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Psammophis afroccidentalis
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| Higher Taxa | Psammophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: West-African Whip Snake F: Psammophis ouest-africain G: Westafrikanische Sandrennnatter |
| Synonym | Psammophis afroccidentalis TRAPE, BÖHME & MEDIANNIKOV in TRAPE et al. 2019 Psammophis sibilans — BOETTGER 1881: 395 (not Linnaeus) Psammophis sibilans — BOULENGER 1896: 161 (part) Psammophis sibilans — BOULENGER 1906: 214 Psammophis sibilans — STERNFELD 1908: 412 Psammophis sibilans — CHABANAUD 1918: 165 Psammophis sibilans — ANGEL 1933: 69 Psammophis sibilans — ANGEL 1933: 162, fig. 61 Psammophis sibilans — ANDERSSON 1937: 8 Psammophis sibilans — CANSDALE 1949: 106 Psammophis sibilans — HUGHES & BARRY 1969: 1023 Psammophis trinasalis — CHABANAUD 1918: 166 (Senegal) (not Werner) Psammophis sibilans sibilans — LOVERIDGE 1940: 30 (part) (not Linnaeus) Psammophis sibilans sibilans — LESTON 1950: 84 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1950: 93 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1951: 827 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1952: 892 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1953: 1119 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1954: 1242 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1956: 880 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1956: 158 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1963: 1372 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — VILLIERS 1975: 138 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — CONDAMIN 1958: 255 Psammophis sibilans sibilans — DOUCET 1963: 306 Psammophis phillipsii — BÖHME 1978: 398, Fig. 16, 17 (right) (not Hallowell) Psammophis rukwae — BÖHME 1978: 401 (not Broadley) Psammophis sibilans — ROMAN 1980: 61 Psammophis cf. rukwae — JOGER, 1981: 332 (not Broadley) Psammophis cf. rukwae — JOGER 1982: 332 Psammophis sibilans — HUGHES 1983: 353 (part) Psammophis cf. phillipsii — SCHÄTTI 1986: 771 (not Hallowell) Psammophis rukwae — BÖHME 1987: 259 Psammophis cf. rukwae — GRUSCHWITZ et al. 1991: 30 Psammophis cf. phillipsii — RÖDEL et al. 1995: 7 Psammophis rukwae — BRANDSTÄTTER 1995: 151 (part) Psammophis cf. phillipsii — BÖHME et al. 1996: 21 Psammophis cf. phillipsii — RÖDEL 1999: 170 Psammophis phillipsii — BÖHME 2000: 71 Psammophis sibilans — CHIPPAUX 2006: 175 (part) Psammophis sibilans — TRAPE & MANÉ 2000: 26 Psammophis sibilans — TRAPE & MANÉ 2002: 149; 2004: 21 Psammophis sibilans — TRAPE & MANÉ 2015: 45 Psammophis sibilans — VILLIERS & CONDAMIN 2005: 144 Psammophis sibilans — AULIYA et al., 2012: 280 Psammophis rukwae — CHIRIO 2009: 30 Psammophis cf. phillipsii — ULLENBRUCH et al., 2010: 43. Psammophis sudanensis — ULLENBRUCH et al., 2010: 44 (not Werner) Psammophis sudanensis — CHIRIO 2012: 83. Psammophis sibilans — HUGHES 2012: 123; 125 (ZFMK 29365) Psammophis sibilans — CHIRIO 2012: 83; Psammophis sibilans — TRAPE & Baldé 2014: 317. Psammophis aff. sibilans — TRAPE & MANÉ 2017: 120 (not Linnaeus) |
| Distribution | Mauritania (northernmost record: Tidra island 19°44’N, 16°24’W), Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Mali (northenmost record: Tinjemban 16°44’N, 02°50’W and along the Niger River), Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger (north- ernmost record: Azzel 17°03’N, 08°03’E), Nigeria and Chad (Mao). Possibly a relict population in southern Algeria (ZFMK 29365 from 200 km north of Tamanrasset, a damaged specimen previously assigned to P. rukwae by Böhme 1986 and to P. sibilans by Hughes 2012). Type locality: Dakar Hann, Senegal (14°43’N, 17°26’W) |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. MNHN-RA 2018.0013 (formerly IRD 7631.S, a male collected by J.-F. Trape on December 10th, 2005 (Figs. 13 & 14). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Distinguishable from other species of the P. sibilans group by the combination of the following characters: 17 scale rows around midbody, 156–185 ven- trals, 96–120 subcaudals (rarely less than 100), cloacal divided, 5 infralabials in contact with anterior sublin- guals (very rarely 4). Dorsum pale brown, dark brown or greenish-brown, rarely uniform, usually a vertebral chain with the scale of vertebral row paler at base, but this chain often restricted to part of the dorsum, ill-de- fined and occasionally totally absent; pale dorsolateral stripes on the 4th row of dorsals, but often ill-defined or absent; top of head with a pale median stripe on the snout which forks when reaching the frontal and then borders the frontal, but often ill defined or absent in adults. Ge- netically diagnosable through possession of unique mi- tochondrial haplotypes. Psammophis afroccidentalis sp. nov. can be distinguished from P. rukwae by a higher number of subcaudals (P. rukwae 70–100, exceptionnaly up to 105), from P. sibilans by major differences in mi- tochondrial haplotypes, a pale median stripe that borders the frontal (not bordering the frontal in P. sibilans) and a more uniform dorsal colouration in most specimens, from P. schokari and P. aegyptius by a lower number of subralabials (8 versus 9) and a different head pattern, and from P. sudanensis, P. phillipsi, P. occidentalis, P. mos- sambicus, P. leopardinus, P. zambiensis and P. subtae- niatus by a higher number of infralabials in contact with the anterior sublinguals (5 versus 4) and by different head and dorsal patterns. (Trape 2019: 68) |
| Comment | Synonym after Trape et al. 2019. See this paper for references. Habitat. Sahel and Sudan savanna in West Africa. Penetrates in Guinea savanna and relict populations in sahelo-saharan wetlands. |
| Etymology | Named after the contraction of Africa and occidentalis, the region of Africa where this species is distributed. |
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