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I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by SwampY on June 15, 2006
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Niger, West Africa
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/libraries/download/5121/Snake%20002.jpg
Any clue what this critter is?
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RE: I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by BREEZER on June 15, 2006
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Hi Chad,
I'm not too sure myself! Is it ONE snake??? The front and the back look like two totaly different snakes! Is it an african snake??? If so, i suspect a species of sand/Grass snake!It also looks like a slender african beauty snake (Psammophis elegans) except for the front part!!! I hate these posts!!! caus' i won't rest untill i know what kind of snake it is!!!LOL
The very front part (head and snout) would pass as a baby king cobra, but i highly doubt it!lol
Please let us know anybody???
Regards
Quintin (Breezer)
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RE: I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by SwampY on June 15, 2006
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I am 99 percent sure it is one snake. I zoomed in and the pattern fades from band to stripe in the part of the snake in the shadows. It showed up at a house in niger, and the lady posted it in the gallery here. I have been trying for 2 days to figure it out.
The body shape looks like psammophis but the snout is not shaped like psammophis. There are parts that look elaphe.
I worked my way thorough googling all the colubrids that embl returned for niger but the problem is a good many of them do not have a single picture on the web.
still stumped ....
Chad
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RE: I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by BWSmith on June 15, 2006
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I showed it to a couple people in Africa and they all came back with Coluber zebrinus. **shrug** I don't recognize it.
B W Smith
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RE: I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by BWSmith on June 15, 2006
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I don't have a clue since I can't seem to find a good photo of Coluber zebrinus or information on its range. But by the same token, Florida and Canada are pretty far away and both have horridus. **shrug**
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RE: I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by Cro on June 15, 2006
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Chad: Very interesting photo !
It is possible that it is two different snakes.
The back half of the snake does look like Psammophylax.
The front half could be a different snake entirely. Perhaps it is a juvenile Coluber zebrinus, but as BW said, photos of that animal are hard to find. The photos I have found of zebrinus show banding in adults and not stripes. The head shape and large eyes are very juvenile Coluber like. And I think they range into that area.
As far as it being any kind of Elaphe, well, they are not found in Africa, so we can rule that out.
Perhaps it is a Psammophylax in the process of Eating a Coluber zebrinus tail first ! LOL
Hopefully, the folks who found the snake can fish it (them) out and get some more photos to post.
Best Regards JohnZ
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by LarryDFishel on June 15, 2006
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Just to be the designated pessimist, and considering recent events and the source of the photos, make sure you do a search on "nigerian scam" if this person offers to sell you this snake...
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RE: I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by outofafrica on June 15, 2006
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Fascinating speciman.
It would be interesting to find out what type of habitat it occured in as that may helpful in narrowing it down.
My first impression is that it was a member of the Philothamnus genus. The morphology appears similar to that of Philothamnus, although I have never seen one with those markings.
It is possible, and in fact likely that it is a Coluber spp, although I can't say which one. It does not look like the C Zebrinus i have seen previously though.
It is worth keeping in mind that the distribution of many snake species in africa is very poorly documented, and many areas have never been formally surveyed herpetelogically. Frequently species turn up in habitats or areas that the literature says the don't belong in, but that are well known, even if not formally identified, to the local inhabitants
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RE: I'm stumped, maybe WW knows??
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by Cro on June 15, 2006
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Malcolm makes a good point with the snake possibly being Philothamnus. Although they are often thought of as being ``green`` snakes, they are variable, and some of them do have stripes, and several of the juvenile photos of Philothamnus in A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa look similar to the ``front`` snake in the photo. Could be an un-described variety.
JohnZ
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