Elapsoidea sundevallii

Elapsoidea sundevallii, also known commonly as Sundevall's garter snake or African garter snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Southern Africa.[1][2] There are five recognised subspecies.[2]

Elapsoidea sundevallii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Elapsoidea
Species:
E. sundevallii
Binomial name
Elapsoidea sundevallii
(A. Smith, 1848)
Synonyms[2]
  • Elaps sunderwallii [sic]
    A. Smith, 1848
  • Elapsoidea sundevallii
    — W. Peters, 1880
  • Elapechis sundevallii
    — Boulenger, 1896
  • Elapsoidea sundevallii
    — Loveridge, 1944

Etymology

The specific epithet, sundevalli, honours Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall (1801–1875).[2][3]

The subspecific name, decosteri, is in honour of Belgian consul Juste De Coster, who collected natural history specimens at Delagoa Bay, Mozambique.[3]

The subspecific name, fitzsimonsi, is in honour of South African herpetologist Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons.[3]

Geographic range

E. sundevallii is found in Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.[1][2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of E. sundevallii are grassland, shrubland, savanna, and forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft).[1]

Description

Adults of E. sundevallii are slate-grey to black or dark brown on the upper body, with whitish to pinkish bellies. Juveniles are banded.[2]

Males grow to be longer than females. The maximum recorded snout-to-vent length (SVL) for a male is 93 cm (37 in). The maximum recorded SVL for a female is only 65 cm (26 in).[4]

Diet

E. sundevallii preys upon frogs, lizards and their eggs, snakes, moles, and rodents.[4]

Venom

Although E. sundevallii is venomous and can inflict a serious bite, few bites have been recorded, and none has resulted in a human fatality. Symptoms may include pain and swelling, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, and loss of consciousness.[4]

Reproduction

The species E. sundevallii is oviparous.[2] A sexually mature female may lay a clutch of as many as 10 eggs.[4]

Subspecies

The following five subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognised as being valid.[2]

  • Elapsoidea sundevallii decosteri Boulenger, 1888
  • Elapsoidea sundevallii fitzsimonsi Loveridge, 1944
  • Elapsoidea sundevallii longicauda Broadley, 1971
  • Elapsoidea sundevallii media Broadley, 1971
  • Elapsoidea sundevallii sundevallii (A. Smith, 1848)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Elapsoidea.

References
  1. Alexander, G.J. (2021). "Elapsoidea sundevallii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T110168328A139744645. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T110168328A139744645.en. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  2. Elapsoidea sundevallii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 August 2022.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Elapsoidea sundevallii decosteri, p. 67; Elapsoidea sundevallii fitzsimonsi, p. 91; "Elapsoidea sundevalli [sic]", p. 258).
  4. Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. ("Elapsoidea sunderwallii [sic]", p. 106 + Plates 21, 32, 37).

Further reading
  • Boulenger GA (1888). "On new or little-known South-African Reptiles". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Sixth Series 2: 136–141. (Elapsoidea decosteri, new species, p. 141).
  • Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III. Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Elapechis sundevallii, new combination, pp. 360–361).
  • Broadley DG (1971). "A revision of the African snake genus Elapsoidea Bocage (Elapidae)". Occasional Papers of the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia 32: 577–626. (Elapsoidea sundevallii longicauda, new subspecies; Elapsoidea sundevallii media, new subspecies).
  • Loveridge A (1944). "Further revisions of African Snake Genera". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 95 (2): 121–247. (Elapsoidea sundevalli fitzsimonsi, new subspecies, pp. 229–231).
  • Smith A (1848). Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa; Consisting Chiefly of Descriptions and Figures of the Objects of Natural History Collected during an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, in the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836; Fitted out by "The Cape of Good Hope Association for the Exploring Central Africa:" Together with a Summary of African Zoology, and an Inquiry into the Geographical Ranges of Species in that Quarter of the Globe. [Volume III. Reptilia.] London: Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury. (Smith, Elder and Co., printers). Plates + unnumbered pages of text. (Elaps sunderwallii, new species, Plate 56). (in English and Latin).
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