Bull nut. Hist. Mus. Loud. (Zool.) 67(1): 85-107 



XV £ 12S)^ ') 



Issued 28 June 2001 



Review of the False Smooth snake genus 

 Macroprotodon (Serpentes, Colubridae) in 

 Algeria with a description of a new species 



E. WADE 



Middlesex University; Cat Hill, Bamet. Hertfordshire, EN4 8HT 



CONTENTS 



Introduction 85 



Materials and methods 87 



Characters examined 87 



Systematic account 89 



Key to the species 100 



Discussion 100 



Acknowledgements 105 



References 105 



Synopsis. The characters used to define Macroprotodon cucullatus mauritanicus Guichenot are re-evaluated. The taxa, M. c. 

 cucullatus, M. c. brevis and M. c. mauritanicus are considered to be full species. The populations occurring in northern Algeria- 

 from Algiers eastwards to Northern Tunisia are retained as M. mauritanicus. Those populations from Algiers westwards into 

 Morocco as far as Melilla are recognised as a new species. M. abubakeri. The populations inhabiting the regions further south are 

 morphologically closer to M. cucullatus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and are assigned to that species. The status of M. c. ibcricus 

 Busack & McCoy is discussed. 



INTRODUCTION 



The subspecies of Macroprotodon cucullatus were first investigated 

 across its range by Pasteur & Bons ( 1 960) and Bons ( 1 967 ) in which, 

 on the basis of midbody scale differences, M. c. brevis was separated 

 from M. c. cucullatus. The former race was restricted to the Iberian 

 peninsula, Morocco exclusive of the east and northeast of that 

 country and the Western Sahara; the populations elsewhere were 

 retained in the nominate form (Fig. la). 



Wade (1988), recognised the northern Algerian, northern Tuni- 

 sian and Balearic populations as distinct from the nominate race 

 mainly on the head and body pattern. He applied the available name, 

 M. c. mauritanicus Guichenot 1850, to which the eastern and 

 northeastern Moroccan populations were also assigned (without 

 seeing any of these specimens). In all other respects there was 

 agreement with Bons (Fig. lb). 



The latest review by Busack and McCoy (1990) rearranged the 

 distribution of the subspecies and added a fourth (Fig. lc). The 

 distributions of the four subspecies are as follows: 



M. c. cucullatus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827) is restricted to 

 Libya, Egypt and southern Israel. 



M. c. mauritanicus Guichenot, 1850, to which were assigned 

 populations of M. c. cucullatus sensu Wade, 1988, occupies the 

 whole of northern Algeria (south to 23°16'N), Tunisia (south to 

 33°42'N), and the Balearic Islands (Spain). The isolated populations 

 of Macroprotodon (M. c. cucullatus, sensu Wade, 1988) from the 

 Hoggar (Algeria) and Lampedusa Island (Italy) were assigned to M. 

 c. mauritanicus. 



M. c. brevis (Giinther 1862) was excluded from Iberia but stated 



to inhabit the whole of Morocco. The Western Saharan form of M. c. 

 cucullatus (sensu Wade, 1988) together with the eastern Moroccan 

 population of M. c. mauritanicus (sensu Wade, 1988) in the extreme 

 northeast of that country were assigned to M. c. brevis. 



M. c. ibcricus Busack & M.Coy, 1990 (M. c. brevis auct.) inhabits 

 the Iberian peninsula except the extreme north. 



The sets of characters used by Busack & McCoy have been 

 reappraised. M. c. mauritanicus has been redefined. The analysis 

 revealed that more than one taxon is involved; the populations from 

 Algiers eastwards comprising the nominate form, those to the west 

 a new form extending into the extreme northeastern Morocco. (Fig. 

 7). The Balearic populations are considered to be sufficiently dis- 

 tinct as to merit separation at subspecific level and will be described 

 by Dr J. M. Pleguezuelos. 



The main aim of this work is the resolution of the conflict of 

 opinions on the forms currently said to comprise Macroprotodon 

 cucullatus mauritanicus, the bulk of which occur in Algeria. The 

 value of the analysis would be diminished had the forms under 

 investigation not been compared with extralimital forms in regions 

 where the putative taxa meet. The Moroccan M. c. brevis whilst not 

 being part of the present analysis is here nevertheless taken into 

 account insofar as the populations which meet the western form of 

 M. c. mauritanicus sensu lato (=the new species) and the adjacent 

 populations of the nominate form are concerned. 



With regard to M. c. cucullatus, the present analysis addresses 

 only those populations (sensu Wade, 1988) which occur in Algeria, 

 Tunisia and Lampedusa i.e. those which have been synonymised 

 with M. c. mauritanicus by Busack & McCoy, 1990 and those 

 extending to the Moulouya valley, northeast Morocco. Bons (1967: 

 Carte no. 16) depicts a good number of localities but unfortunately 



i The Natural History Museum. 2001 



