You are here » home › search results › Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus

Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus (REINHARDT, 1843)

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus?

Add your own observation of
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaPsammophiidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Western beaked snake 
SynonymPsammophis oxyrhynchus REINHARDT 1843: 244
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — PETERS 1854
Coelopeltis oxyrhynchus — JAN 1863: 89
Rhagerrhis unguiculata — GÜNTHER 1868: 422
Rhagerrhis oxyrhynchus — GÜNTHER 1888: 327 (part.)
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — BOULENGER 1896: 12
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — BOULENGER 1896: 21
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — BOULENGER 1896: 146 (part)
Rhamphiophis oxyrrhynchus — BOETTGER 1913: 360
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — ANGEL 1922: 40
Rhamphiophis connali PARKER 1929: 450
Rhamphiophis connali — LOVERIDGE 1933: 199
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — ANGEL 1933: 764
Rhamphiophis connali — ANGEL 1933: 764
Rhamphiophis oxyrrhynchus — PASQUAL 1938: 37
Rhamphiophis connali — BARBOUR & LOVERIDGE 1946: 187
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — ANGEL 1950: 48
Ramphiophis oxyrhynchus — DEKEYSER & VILLIERS 1954: 962
Ramphiophis oxyrhynchus — CONDAMIN 1958: 254
Ramphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — PERRET 1961: 136
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — ANFINNSEN 1966: 9
Ramphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — PAPENFUSS 1969: 312
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — HUGHES & BARRY 1969: 1021
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — BROADLEY 1971: 87
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — PITMAN 1974
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — BÖHME 1975: 39; 1978: 403
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — BONATH 1977: 35
Ramphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — COURTOIS & CHIPPAUX 1977: 75
Raphiophis oxyrhyunchus — STUCKI-STIRN 1979: 423
Rhamphiophis oxhrinchus — ASHE 1979: 19
Ramphiophis oxyrynchus — ROMAN 1980: 67
Rhamphiophis oxyrrhynchus — CHIFUDNERA 1990: 142
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — CHIRIO & INEICH 1991: 223
Ramphiophis oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — MANE 1992: 23
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — BROADLEY 1998
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — SPAWLS et al. 2001
Rhampiophis oxyrhynchus — SPAWLS et al. 2002: 399
Ramphiophis [sic] oxyrhynchus — PADIAL 2006
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 646
Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 447 
DistributionN Botswana, N Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Ghana, Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Central African Republic, Cameroon, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea (Conakry), Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania ?, Malawi, Namibia ?, Ethiopia, Uganda

Type locality: Ghana, Gambia  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: ZMUC 63125 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: “Cette espèce se distingue de toutes les autres espèces du genre par la combinaison de trois caractères: présence de 17 rangées d'écailles dorsales au milieu du corps, absence de bandes longitudinales en arrière du cou et absence de taches paravertébrales plus sombres.” (Chirio & Ineich 1991).


Additional details (514 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSubspecies: Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus rostratus (PETERS 1854) is now considered as a valid species.

Distribution: It is suspected that specimens from “Tangaika” (Witte 1953) were obtained on the Tanzanian side of Lake Tanganyika (BROADLEY 1998). Not listed for Zambia by BROADLEY et al. (2003) and thus deleted for Zambia. Not in Mauritania and Namibia fide Chippaux & Jackson 2019: 280 (Fig. 11.74).

Synonymy initially after GÜNTHER 1888, updated after B. Hughes (pers. comm., 14 Nov 2016). R. connali has been described by Parker 1929 who lists R. oxyrhynchus as a synonym. 
EtymologyFrom Latin, alluding to the pointed rostral scale; oxyus = sharp, rhynchus = of the nose / snout, literally meaning sharp-snouted. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Barnett, Linda K. & Emms, Craig 2005. Common reptiles of The Gambia. Rare Repro, Hailsham, East Sussex, 24 pp.
  • Bogert, Charles M. 1942. Snakes secured by the Snyder East African Expedition in Kenya Colony and Tanganyika Territory. American Museum Novitates (1178): 1-5 - get paper here
  • Böhme, Wolfgang, Mark-Oliver Rödel, Christian Brede & Philipp Wagner 2011. The reptiles (Testudines, Squamata, Crocodylia) of the forested southeast of the Republic Guinea (Guinée forestière), with a country-wide checklist. Bonn zoological Bulletin 60 (1): 35-61 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D. G. 1971. The reptiles and amphibians of Zambia. The Puku, Occas. Pap. Dept. Wild. Fish. Natl. Parks Zambia 6: 1-143
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • Broadley, D.G. 1962. On some reptile collections from the North-Western and North-Eastern Districts of Southern Rhodesia 1958-1961, with descriptions of four new lizards. Occ. Pap. Nat. Mus. South. Rhodesia 26 (B): 787-843
  • Broadley, D.G. 1998. The reptilian fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). In: Schmidt, K.P. and Noble, G.K., Contributions to the Herpetology of the Belgian Congo... [reprint of the 1919 and 1923 papers]. SSAR Facsimile reprints in Herpetology, 780 pp.
  • Broadley, D.G.; Doria, C.T. & Wigge, J. 2003. Snakes of Zambia. An Atlas and Field Guide. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 280 pp. [review in Sauria 26 (3): 21]
  • Chifundera, K. 1990. Snakes of Zaire and their bites. Afr. Stud. Monogr. (Kyoto) 10(3): 137-157.
  • Chippaux, Jean-Philippe & Kate Jackson 2019. Snakes of Central and Western Africa. Johns Hopkins University Press, 448 pp. [detaileld review in HR 51 (1): 161] - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. 2009. Inventaire des reptiles de la région de la Réserve de Biosphère Transfrontalière du W (Niger/Bénin/Burkina Faso: Afrique de l’Ouest). [Herpetological survey of the W Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve area (Niger/Benin/Burkina Faso: West Africa]. Bull. Soc. Herp. France (132): 13-41 - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • Chirio,L. & Ineich,I. 1992. Les genres Rhamphiophis Peters 1854 et Dipsina Jan 1863 (Serpentes, Colubridae): revue des taxons reconnus et description d'une espèce nouvelle. Bull. Mus. natl. Hist. nat., Paris, 4è ser. 13A (1-2): 217-235 [1991]
  • Cimatti, E. 2005. Scaly encounters in Kenya. Reptilia (GB) (42): 65-69 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. 1868. Sixth account of new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4) 1: 413-429 - get paper here
  • Günther,A. 1888. Contribution to the knowledge of snakes of tropical Africa. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (6) 1: 322-335 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • Hughes, B. 2013. Snakes of Bénin, West Africa. Bull. Soc. Herp. France 144: 101-159
  • Lanza, B. 1990. Amphibians and reptiles of the Somali Democratic Republic: check list and biogeography. Biogeographia, 14: 407-465 [1988] - get paper here
  • Largen,M.J. & Rasmussen,J.B. 1993. Catalogue of the snakes of Ethiopia (Reptilia Serpentes), including identification keys. Tropical Zoology 6: 313-434 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1936. African reptiles and amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History. Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Chicago, 22 (1): 1-122 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1956. On snakes collected in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by J.S. Owen, Esq. Sudan Notes Rec. 36: 37-56 [1955]
  • Loveridge, Arthur 1929. East African reptiles and amphibians in the United States National Museum. Bull. US Natl. Mus. (151): 1-135 - get paper here
  • Nečas, P. & Schmidt, W. 2004. Stump-tailed Chameleons. Miniature Dragons of the Rainforest. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 256 pp. [review in Elaphe 14 (1): 24]
  • Padial, J. M. 2006. COMMENTED DISTRIBUTIONAL LIST OF THE REPTILES OF MAURITANIA (WEST AFRICA). Graellsia, 62(2): 159-178 - get paper here
  • Parker, H. W. 1929. A new opisthoglyphous snake from West Africa. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (10) 4: 449 - get paper here
  • Peters,W.C.H. 1854. Diagnosen neuer Batrachier, welche zusammen mit der früher (24. Juli und 17. August) gegebenen Übersicht der Schlangen und Eidechsen mitgetheilt werden. Ber. Bekanntmach. Geeignet. Verhandl. Königl.-Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1854: 614-628
  • Pitman,C.R.S. 1974. A guide to the snakes of Uganda. Codicote, Wheldon & Wesley, L., 290 pp.
  • Rasmussen, J.B. & B. Hughes 1996. Description of some new snake species. I. [English translation of the original Danish text of T. Reinhardt 1843]. Steenstrupia 22: 13-39
  • Raxworthy,C.J. & Attuquayefio,D.K. 2000. Herpetofaunal communities at Muni Lagoon in Ghana. Biodiversity and Conservation 9: 501-510 - get paper here
  • Reinhardt, J. T. 1843. Beskrivelse af nogle nye Slangearter. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Afhandl. 10: 233-279. - get paper here
  • Segniagbeto GLazcano. H., Trape J. F., David P., Ohler A., Dubois A. & Glitho I. A. 2011. The snake fauna of Togo: systematics, distribution and biogeography, with remarks on selected taxonomic problems. Zoosystema 33 (3): 325-360. DOI: 10.5252/z2011n3a4 - get paper here
  • Segniagbeto, G.H.; Dekawole, J.K.; Ketoh, G.K.; Dendi, D.; Luiselli, L. 2022. Herpetofaunal Diversity in a Dahomey Gap Savannah of Togo (West Africa): Effects of Seasons on the Populations of Amphibians and Reptiles. Diversity 14: 964
  • Sow, Andack Saad; Duarte Vasconcelos Gonçalves, Fábio Vieira Sousa, Fernando Martínez- Freiría, Frederico Santarém, Guillermo Velo-Antón, Hamidou Dieng, João Carlos Campos, Saer Khayar Diagne, Zbyszek Boratyński, José Carlos Brito 2017. Atlas of the distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the Diawling National Park, Mauritania. Basic and Applied Herpetology - get paper here
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch & Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Trape J-F and Mané Y. 2015. The snakes of Niger. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 9(2) [Special Section]: 39–55 (e110) - get paper here
  • Trape, J.-F. 2023. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale, centrale et d’Afrique du Nord. IRD Éditions, Marseille, 896 pp.
  • Trape, J.-F. & Mané, Y. 2002. Les serpents du Sénégal: liste commentée des espèces. Bull. Soc. Pathol. Exot. 95 (3): 148-150
  • Trape, J.-F. & Mané, Y. 2004. Les serpents des environs de Bandafassi (Sénégal oriental). Bull. Soc. Herp. France 109: 5-34 - get paper here
  • Trape, J.-F. & Mané, Y. 2006. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale. Savane et désert. [Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger]. IRD Editions, Paris, 226 pp. - get paper here
  • TRAPE, JEAN-FRANÇOIS & CELLOU BALDÉ 2014. A checklist of the snake fauna of Guinea, with taxonomic changes in the genera Philothamnus and Dipsadoboa (Colubridae) and a comparison with the snake fauna of some other West African countries. Zootaxa 3900 (3): 301–338 - get paper here
  • Trape, Jean-François; Mané, Youssouph 2000. Les serpents des environs de Dielmo (Sine-Saloum, Sénégal). Bull. Soc. Herp. France 95: 19-35 - get paper here
  • Trape, Jean-François & Youssouph Mané 2017. The snakes of Mali. Bonn zoological Bulletin 66 (2): 107–133 - get paper here
  • Ullenbruch, K.; Grell, O.; Böhme, W. 2010. Reptiles from southern Benin, West Africa, with the description of a new Hemidactylus (Gekkonidae), and a country-wide checklist. Bonn Zool. Bull. 57 (1): 31-54 - get paper here
  • 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.
  • Walsh, T. & S. Davis 1978. Observations on the Husbandry and Breeding of the Rufous-Beaked Snake, Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus rostratus, at the National Zoological Park Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 14(2): 75-78. - get paper here
  • Werner, F. 1899. Ueber Reptilien und Batrachier aus Togoland, Kamerun und Deutsch-Neu-Guinea grösstentheils aus dem k. Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 49: 132-157 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Rhamphiophis&species=oxyrhynchus

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator