72 



D.G. BROADLEY AND V. WALLACH 



fourth only) entering orbit; infralabials 9-13, mode 1 1 , the first 4 or 

 5 (rarely 3) in contact with anterior sublinguals; dorsal scales 

 usually in 19-19-11 or 19-19-13 rows, very rarely 17 rows at 

 midbody; ventrals 150-177 in 33, 153-177 in 99; cloacal divided; 

 subcaudals 132-173 in 33, 126-168 in 99 



SIZE. Largest 3 (NMZB 3 828 - Mtorashanga, Zimbabwe) 1 062 + 

 620 = 1682 mm; largest 9 (NMZB 3600 - Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe) 

 975 + 560 = 1535 mm, but NMZB-UM 1061 from Shurugwe, 

 Zimbabwe, has a snout- vent length of 1050 mm (tail truncated). 



Habitat. Savanna. 



Distribution. Southern Angola and northern Namibia, west 

 through northern Botswana, Zambia and southeast Katanga (D.R.C.) 

 to Zimbabwe, western Mozambique and Malawi (Fig. 6). 



Dispholidus typus (A. Smith) 



Boomslang 



Bucephalus typus A. Smith, 1828, South African Commercial Ad- 

 vertiser 3 ( 144): 2, col. 4. Type locality: Eastern districts of South 

 Africa; 1829, Zool. Journ., 4: 441 (B. typicus). 



Bucephalus Jardineii A. Smith, 1828, South African Commercial 

 Advertiser 3 (144): 2, col. 4. Type locality: Cape Town, South 

 Africa; 1829, Zool. Journ., 4: 422. 



Bucephalus gutturalis A. Smith, 1828, South African Commercial 

 Advertiser 2> (144): 2, col. 4. Type locality: Forests of the eastern 

 districts of South Africa; 1829, Zool. Journ., 4: 442. 



Bucephalus Bellii A. Smith, 1828, South African Commercial Ad- 

 vertiser '3 (144): 2, col. 4. Type locality: Eastern districts of South 

 Africa; 1829, Zool. Journ., 4: 442. 



Dispholidus Lalandii Duvernoy, 1832, Ann. Sci. Nat. (Paris) 26: 

 150. Type locality: Cape of Good Hope. 



Dendrophis colubrina Schlegel, 1837, Essai Phys. Serp. 2: 238, PI. 

 ix, fig. 14-16. Type locality: Rondesbosch, [Western] Cape Prov- 

 ince, South Africa. 



Bucephalus viridis A. Smith, 1838, lllus. Zool. S. Africa, Rept.: PI. 

 iii. Type locality: Old Latakoo [Northern Cape Province], South 

 Africa. 



Bucephalus capensis A. Smith, 1 84 1 , lllus. Zool. S. Africa, Rept. : PI. 

 x-xiii. Type locality: Cape Province, South Africa; Bocage, 

 1895: 121. 



Dendrophis pseudodipsas Bianconi, 1848, Nuovi Ann. Sci.Nat. (2) 

 10: 108, PI. iv, fig. 2 & 1850. Spec. Zool. Mosamb. 40, PI. iv, fig. 

 2. Type locality: [Inhambane] Mozambique. Holotype: Bologna 

 100296. 



Thrasops jacksonii mossambicus Mertens, 1937, Abhand. 

 senckenberg. naturf. Ges., No. 435: 13. Type locality: Cheringoma 

 Farm, Inhaminga, Mozambique. Holotype SMF 22246. 



Dispholidus typus kivuensis Laurent, 1955, Revue Zool. Bot. Afr. 51: 

 127. Type locality: Uvira, Kivu. Congo Beige [= D.R.C.]. Holotype 

 MRAC 17505. 



Dispholidus typus punctatus Laurent, 1955, Revue Zool. Bot. Afr. 

 51: 129. Type locality: Dundo, Angola. Holotype MRAC 17395. 



Dispholidus typus occidentalis Perret, 1961, Bull. Soc. neuchateloise 

 Sci. nat. 84: 138. Type locality: Cameroon, no type designated. 



Diagnosis. Dorsal scales strongly keeled in 19 (rarely 17 or 21) 

 rows at midbody; ventrals 164-201; anal divided; subcaudals 94- 

 142. 



DESCRIPTION. Supralabials 7 (rarely 8 or 6), the third and fourth 

 (rarely 5 th & 6 th ) entering orbit; lower labials 8-13, the first 3-6 in 

 contact with anterior sublinguals; preocular 1 ; postoculars 3 (very 

 rarely 2 or 4), the lower in contact with two labials; temporals 1 + 2 

 (very rarely 1 +1, 1 +3, 2+ 1,2 + 2 or 2 +3); three enlarged 



occipitals, the middle one subtriangular. Dorsals strongly keeled in 

 19 (rarely 17 or 21) rows; ventrals 164-201; cloacal divided; 

 subcaudals 94-142 pairs. 



COLORATION IN LIFE. Juveniles are speckled dark grey-brown 

 above, with paired blue spots on some adjacent scales that become 

 visible when the skin is stretched, the lower scale rows are grey and 

 the venter is white, heavily stippled with dark red-brown. The head 

 is brown above, the labials and chin white, sometimes with some 

 black spots, and the throat is bright yellow. The iris of the eye is 

 bright green. The juvenile coloration is gradually lost as the snake 

 approaches one metre in length and there is great variation in adult 

 colour pattern. 



Males are usually green, with or without black-edged scales, 

 females usually olive or brown above, paler below. This sexual 

 dimorphism in colour pattern does not always apply, for example 

 green females are not uncommon in Mozambique and KwaZulu- 

 Natal, while in southwestern Zimbabwe some males are olive-brown 

 above and duck-egg blue below. In East Africa a uniform black 

 phase may occur in either sex. In the Eastern Cape Province (the 

 'type locality') males are usually black above, each scale and head 

 shield with a green or yellow spot, venter yellow-green, each ventral 

 bordered with black, but in the southwestern Cape the dorsum is 

 uniform black and the venter yellow. In the western form described 

 as D. t. punctatus Laurent, the males are black above, each scale or 

 head shield with an orange spot, ventrals violet edged with black. 

 Females are usually red-brown above, paler below. 



Size. Largest 3 (NMZB 3947 - Mutoko, Zimbabwe) 1290 + 530 

 = 1820 mm; largest 9 (NMZB 3820 - Makote, Newala, Tanzania) 

 1447 + 475 = 1922 mm (tail tip truncated). C.J.P Ionides recorded a 

 brown male from Tanzania that measured 2 1 34 mm (Pitman, 1 974). 



Habitat. Savanna. 



Distribution. Senegal east to the Horn of Africa, south to the 

 southwestern Cape, excluding areas of rain forest, grassland and 

 desert. 



Remarks. The data for the solitary specimen examined from 

 Pemba Island, Tanzania (MCZ 45587), confirm the long held opin- 

 ion of Barry Hughes that this population is taxonomically distinct: 

 he will describe it when he has access to more material. The 

 subspecies described by Laurent (1955) were based on male colora- 

 tion and subcaudal counts, but there is clinal variation in both 

 characters. The species needs to be reviewed, using material from 

 throughout its extensive range. 



Key to the genera and species of Dispholidini 



la. 

 lb. 



2a. 



2b. 

 3a. 

 3b. 

 4a. 



Nasal divided; rear maxillary teeth not grooved 



Nasal entire; enlarged grooved fangs on posterior maxilla . 



Head elongate with two loreals in tandem; temporals 1 +2; maxillary 



teeth 17, the last three enlarged and dagger-shaped 



Xyelodontophis uluguruensis 



Head short with single loreal; temporals 1+1 or one only; maxillary 

 teeth 20-38, the last three enlarged 3 



Vertebral scale row enlarged; a single temporal; 2 or 4 enlarged 

 occipitals 4 



Vertebral scale row not enlarged; 1 + 1 temporals: no enlarged 

 occipitals 5 



Cloacal shield entire; midbody scale rows 13; occipitals 4 



Rhamnophis batesii 





