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Thelotornis mossambicanus (BOCAGE, 1895)

IUCN Red List - Thelotornis mossambicanus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Eastern Twig Or Vine Snake 
SynonymDryiophis Kirtlandii var. mossambicana BOCAGE 1895: 119
Thelotornis capensis mossambicanus — RASMUSSEN 1981: 178
Thelotornis capensis mossambicanus — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 32
Thelotornis mossambicanus — BROADLEY 2001
Thelotornis mossambicanus — RAZZETTI & MSUYA 2002
Thelotornis mossambicanus — BROADLEY et al. 2003
Thelotornis capensis mossambicanus — CIMATTI 2006
Thelotornis mossambicanus — JACOBSEN et al. 2010
Thelotornis mossambicanus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 729
Thelotornis mossambicanus — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 507 
DistributionS Somalia, SE Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, E Zimbabwe

Type locality: "Manica, Mozambique" [= Mozambique],
= lectotype locality.  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesLectotype: MB (Museu Bocage) 1843 (A. Ennes), designated by Broadley (1979: 129), destroyed by fire 18 March 1978. 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1258 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Hybridization: mossambicanus is intergrading wit oatesi and capensis in E Zimbabwe and S Mozambique (Broadley 1979; BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991).
Derleyn (1978) had described T. c. schilsi from the Ruzizi plain in Burundi, but this form is known from only a few specimens and differs from T. c. mossambicanus only in its shorter tail and consequently lower subcaudal counts.

Habitat: fully arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). 
EtymologyNamed after the type locality. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Bates, Michael F. 2018. Catalogue of reptiles from Mozambique in the collection of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Indago 34 (2): 135–147
  • Bauer, Aaron M.; Branch, William R. & Haacke, Wulf D. 1993. The herpetofauna of the Kamanjab area and adjacent Damaraland, Namibia. Madoqua (Windhoek) 18 (2): 117-145. - get paper here
  • Bennefield, B. I. 1982. Combat and Mating in the Vine Snake, Thelotornis capensis mossambicana. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (28): 13-14 - get paper here
  • Bocage,J.V. du B. 1895. Herpétologie d'Angola et du Congo. Lisbon: Imprimerie Nationale, i-xx, 203 pp. - get paper here
  • 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
  • Boycott, R.C. 1992. An Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Swaziland. The Conservation Trust of Swaziland - get paper here
  • Broadley, D. & Blaylock 2013. The Snakes of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 387 pp. [book review in Sauria 35 (2): 59 and Copeia 2014: 388] - get paper here
  • BROADLEY, D. G. 2001. A review of the genus Thelotornis A. Smith in eastern Africa, with the description of a new species from the Usambara mountains (Serpentes: Colubridae: Dispholidini). African Journal of Herpetology 50 (2): 53-70 - get paper here
  • 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. & V. WALLACH 2002. Review of the Dispholidini, with the description of a new genus and species from Tanzania (Serpentes, Colubridae). Bull. nat.Hist. Mus. Lond (Zool.), 68(2): 57-74. - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1979. Problems presented by geographical variation in the African vine snakes, genus Thelotornis. S.Afr.J.Zool. 14 (3): 125-131 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1991. The Herpetofauna of Northern Mwinilunga Distr., Northw. Zambia. Arnoldia Zimbabwe 9 (37): 519-538
  • 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]
  • Broadley, Donald G. and F. P. D. Cotterill. 2004. The reptiles of southeast Katanga, an overlooked 'hot spot'. [Congo]. African Journal of Herpetology 53 (1): 35-61. - get paper here
  • Buruwate, T. C., & Lloyd-Jones, D. J. 2024. Amphibian and Reptile Diversity of Niassa Special Reserve, Northern Mozambique. Journal of East African Natural History, 113(1), 1-18 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Cimatti, E. 2006. Reptile Parks in Tanzania. Reptilia (GB) (48): 52-59 - get paper here
  • Conradie, Werner; Gabriela B. Bittencourt-Silva, Hanlie M. Engelbrecht, Simon P. Loader, Michele Menegon, Cristóvão Nanvonamuquitxo, Michael Scott, Krystal A. Tolley 2016. Exploration into the hidden world of Mozambique’s sky island forests: new discoveries of reptiles and amphibians. Zoosyst. Evol. 92 (2): 163–180, DOI 10.3897/zse.92.9948 - get paper here
  • Derleyn, P. P. 1978. Notes sur les serpents du Burundi (2me partie). Les genres Geodipsas et Thelotornis. REVUE DE ZOOLOGIE AFRICAINE 92 (1): 208-218
  • Haagner,G.V.; Branch,W.R. & Haagner,A.J.F. 2000. Notes on a collection of reptiles from Zambia and adjacent areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Annals of the Eastern Cape Museum 1: 1 – 25
  • Harrington, Sean M; Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane 2018. Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 125 (1): 61–71 - get paper here
  • Jacobsen, Niels H.G.; Errol W. Pietersen & Darren W. Pietersen 2010. A preliminary herpetological survey of the Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary on the San Sebastian Peninsula, Vilankulo, Mozambique. Herpetology Notes 3: 181-193
  • Lanza, B. 1990. Amphibians and reptiles of the Somali Democratic Republic: check list and biogeography. Biogeographia, 14: 407-465 [1988] - get paper here
  • Lyakurwa, J.V., Howell, K.M., Munishi, L.K., Treydte, A.C. 2019. Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve; a unique hotspot for reptiles in Tanzania. Acta Herpetologica 14 (1): 3-14 - get paper here
  • Lyakurwa, John Valentine 2017. The Reptiles of the Uzungwa Scarp Forest Reserve (USFR): An Updated Checklist with Notes on Dagger-Tooth Vine Snake Xyelodontophis uluguruensis. Journal of East African Natural History 106(2):57-65. - get paper here
  • Malonza, Patrick K.; David M. Mulwa, Joash O. Nyamache, Georgina Jones 2017. Biogeography of the Shimba Hills ecosystem herpetofauna in Kenya. Zoological Research 38(5): 1-11 - get paper here
  • Malonza, Vincent; Beryl A. Bwong, Vincent Muchai 2011. Kitobo Forest of Kenya, a unique hotspot of herpetofaunal divers. Acta Herpetologica 6 (2): 149-160 - get paper here
  • Mattison, Chris 1995. The Encyclopedia of Snakes. New York: Facts on File, 256 pp.
  • Mattison, Chris 2007. The New Encyclopedia of Snakes. Princeton University Press
  • Miguel, A. R., Kaiser, H., Vargas, N. D., & Borges-Martins, M. 2024. Diversity and natural history of reptiles from coastal environments in Gilé National Park, northern Mozambique. Herpetology Notes, 17, 173-199
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Rasmussen,J.B. 1981. The snakes from the rainforest of the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania: a checklist and key. Salamandra 17 (3-4): 173-188 - get paper here
  • Razzetti, E. & Msuya, C.A. 2002. Field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Arusha National Park (Tanzania). Publ. Ed. Negri Istituto, Oikos, Varese, 84 pp.
  • Shine,R.; Harlow, P.S.; Branch, W.R. & Webb, J.K. 1996. Life on the lowest branch: sexual dimorphism, diet, and reproductive biology of an african twig snake, Thelotornis capensis (Serpentes: Colubridae). Copeia 1996 (2): 290-299 - get paper here
  • Smith, A. 1848. Illustrations of the zoology of South Africa, Reptilia. Smith, Elder, and Co., London - 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
  • Taylor, Edward H.;Weyer, Dora 1958. Report on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from Harbel, Republic of Liberia. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 38 (14): 1191-1229 - 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.
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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