| Elapsoidea guentherii | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Elapsoidea |
| Species: | E. guentherii |
| Binomial name | |
| Elapsoidea guentherii Bocage, 1866 | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
Elapsoidea guentherii, also known commonly as Günther's garter snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Central Africa.
Etymology
The specific name, guentherii, is in honor of German-British herpetologist Albert Günther.
Geographic range
E. guentherii is found in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of E. guentherii is savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).
Description
E. guentherii exhibits sexual dimorphism with males being significantly larger than females. Males may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 56 cm (22 in), but females only grow to 38.5 cm (15.2 in) SVL. Juveniles have a dorsal color pattern of alternating black and white crossbands of equal width. The pattern fades as the snakes mature, with adults becoming uniformly grayish black dorsally, and lighter gray ventrally.
Venom
E. guentherii is venomous, but no human fatalities have been reported.
Diet
E. guentherii preys predominately upon reptiles such as lizards and snakes, but it will also eat amphibians and termites.
Reproduction
E. guentherii is oviparous. In late summer an adult female may lay a clutch of as many as ten eggs.
References
- ^ Verburgt, L.; Pietersen, D.; Farooq, H.; Chapeta, Y. (2020). "Elapsoidea guentherii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T13265832A13265836. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T13265832A13265836.en. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ "Elapsoidea guentherii ". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- 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 guntheri, p. 110).
- ^ 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 guentheri, p. 105 + Plate 21).
Further reading
- Bocage JVB (1866). "Lista dos reptis dos possessões portuguezas d'Africa occidental que existem no Museo de Lisboa ". Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas Physicas e Naturaes da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa 1: 37–56. (Elapsoidea Guntherii, new species, pp. 50-51). (in Portuguese).
- Chippaux J-P, Jackson K (2019). Snakes of Central and Western Africa. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 448 pp. ISBN 978-1421427195.
- Conradie, Werner; Baptista, Ninda L.; Verburgt, Luke; Keates, Chad; Harvey, James; Júlio, Timóteo; Neef, Götz (2021). "Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 1: Serpentes (snakes)". Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 15 (2): 244–278. (in English, with an abstract in Portuguese).
- Pietersen, Darren W.; Verburgt, Luke; Davies, John P. (2021). Snakes and other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Cape Town: Penguin Random House South Africa. 376 pp. ISBN 978-1775847373.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Elapsoidea guentherii | |
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