Olive marsh snake

The olive marsh snake (Natriciteres olivacea) is a species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Olive marsh snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Natriciteres
Species:
N. olivacea
Binomial name
Natriciteres olivacea
(W. Peters, 1854)
Synonyms[2]
  • Coronella olivacea
    W. Peters, 1854
  • Zacholus olivaceus
    — Rochebrune, 1884
  • Tropidonotus olivaceus
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Mizodon olivaceus
    — Bocage, 1895
  • Natrix olivaceus
    — Schmidt, 1923
  • Neusterophis olivaceus
    — Loveridge, 1951
  • Natriciteres olivacea
    — Loveridge, 1953

Description

N. olivacea is a small snake which exhibits sexual dimorphism. Males may attain a maximum total length (including tail) of only 27 cm (11 in), but the larger females may attain a total length of 33 cm (13 in).[3]

It has smooth dorsal scales, which are arranged in 19 rows at midbody, reducing to 17 rows towards the rear.[3]

Dorsally, it is dark olive. Ventrally, it is whitish. The upper labials are whitish, with dark vertical bars at the sutures.[3]

Distribution and habitat

N. olivacea is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, both Congos (Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo), Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[2]

The preferred habitat of N. olivacea is savanna.[3]

Biology

N. olivacea is oviparous. In early summer the adult female lays a clutch of 6-8 eggs. Each egg measures 22 x 9 mm (.87 x .35 inch).[3] It preys on winged termites.[3]


References
  1. Luiselli, L.; Segniagbeto, G.; Rödel, M.-O.; Spawls, S.; Beraduccii, J.; Howell, K.; Msuya, C.A.; Ngalason, W. (2021). "Natriciteres olivacea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T176866A15474395. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T176866A15474395.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Species Natriciteres olivacea at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 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. (Natriciteres olivacea, p. 81 + Plates 33 & 37).

Further reading
  • Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Tropidonotus olivaceus, pp. 227–228).
  • Loveridge A (1953). "Zoological Results of a Fifth Expedition to East Africa. III. Reptiles from Nyasaland and Tete". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College, in Cambridge 110 (3): 141-322 + Plates 1–5. (Natriciteres olivacea, new combination, pp. 251–252).
  • Peters W (1854). "Diagnosen neuer Batrachier, welcher zusammen mit der früher (24. Juli und 17. August) gegebenen Übersicht der Schlangen und Eidechsen mitgetheilt werden ". Berichte über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1854: 614–628. (Coronella olivacea, new species, pp. 622–623). (in German and Latin).


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