An annotated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Sibiloi National Park in northern Kenya based on field surveys
Author
Kirchhof, Sebastian
Division of Science, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES & Museum fUr Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, GERMANY 3 Herpetology Section, National Museums of Kenya, P. O. Box 40658 - 00100, Nairobi, KENYA
Author
Wasonga, Victor
Author
Mazuch, Tomáš
Author
Spawls, Stephen
Author
Malonza, Patrick Kinyatta
text
Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
2023
e 324
2023-06-01
17
1 / 2
1
18
journal article
299969
10.5281/zenodo.12761910
cda73657-e098-4f17-922e-91d2c5b45fca
1525-9153
12761910
Psammophis
cf.
tanganicus
Loveridge, 1940
Vouchers: NMK-370S (field no. SK16 1093)
Records: KA (B)
Remarks: A slim grey sand snake very similar to
Psammophis biseriatus
,
of which it was originally described as a subspecies. Its taxonomic status will remain unresolved without thorough genetic and morphological analyses covering their entire ranges. According to
Loveridge (1940)
the only character separating
P. biseriatus biseriatus
from
P. b.
tanganicus
[sic] is the number of labial scales entering the orbit (two in
P. b.
biseriatus
vs. three in
P. b.
tanganicus
[sic]). Specimen NMK-370S has nine labials and the 4
th
, 5
th
, and 6
th
are in contact with the orbit. Labials are not plain white but rather largely blotched in light brown. This poorly known snake occurs from sea level to about
1,300 m
in dry savanna and semi-desert, but the known Kenyan records are few and very scattered (
Spawls et al. 2018
). We found only one individual (
Fig. 4U
) in the bushland at Karare in the evening of
2 December 2016
right at sunset. It was actively moving on the ground, but immediately climbed into a shrub when disturbed. If the specimen proves to be
P. tanganicus
this will be the first record from the Lake
Turkana
area. Genetic analyses are necessary to resolve the taxonomic status of
P. biseriatus
and
P. tanganicus
.