Psammophis mossambicus (Peters, 1882) and a lengthy ramble on reptile taxonomy.

I think it's worth telling you that I am terrified of a fair few things.

One is being alone in water deeper than a foot. Crocodiles are another. Sharks were, for a while, and it's not unreasonable to suppose that the cold dread I experience when I'm swimming in a murky creek without anyone to use as a human shield is because I watched Jaws well before I was old enough.
I'm scared of being trapped in a crowd - hearing more than a couple of simultaneous conversations nauseates me. I'm not comfortable sharing silence with strangers - when I was alone in a windowless lab with a lovely Welsh girl, working on my BSc dissertation study while she worked on her MRes, I was absolutely terrified of her until we broke our respective silences, and I knew that she wasn't just sitting there judging me and/or plotting to kill me somehow
I don't like having people in my blind spot, even if they are talking. I love cliff-top walks, but if I'm within four feet of the edge and I have my shoes on, I find it extremely difficult to step forward (as an aside, if I find myself within six or so feet of water that may contain a crocodile, I have quite the opposite response, and find it difficult to stop running).
I get nervous around powertools - too many scary movies too early - and the sound of trains in the dark. Dogs I don't know, other people's parents, other people's spit, rollercoasters, the Knife-Edge bridge at Mosi-oa-tunya, touching food that other people will eat... I could go on.

This, though, is something that has never been an issue for me:

Photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia in August 2011, using an Olympus E-420 DSLR and a Zuiko 40-150mm lens.

Europe doesn't have many snakes; Britain has only three, and as you might expect from this, not until really quite recently has it expanded its vocabulary to include species-specific names - even words such as the Greek-rooted 'Python' have only been in English for a couple of centuries.

Zambia has around seventy species of snake, some of which are harmless, some of which are potently venomous - some of which again will bite readily if they perceive a threat, some of which are unwilling to bite even if trodden on. Some will raise a hood and spit at people a few metres away but flee from people close by, similar species will raise a hood but not spit at a certain distance, but just strike if surprised close to.

The long and short of this is that there are a lot of words for specific snakes in Chewa and its sister-languages. The mildly venomous (nausea and mild to intense pain) species pictured above has the name of Chidyamsana in Chewa, or the Olive Grass Snake, Mozambique Whip-Snake or Mozambique Whip-Snake in English.

It's quite retiring, as one might expect from a small, thin snake, but if cornered will capitalise on its resemblance to the not-too-distantly related Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis), and strike readily. As noted, it's not absolutely harmless, and with a good bite, could make you feel fairly sorry for yourself for a while, but, allergic or psychosomatic reactions notwithstanding, it's far from deadly.

Unfortunately, that resemblance that sometimes means it can send its attackers running now often leads this handy member of the suburban rodent - and indeed snake - control crew to be hacked to death.

Although it is readily confused with smaller specimens of the (much bigger) black mamba, it's shape is quite unlike it - very slender, and often appearing much longer than it actually is as a result, it more closely resembles the arboreal (and rarely seen) green mambas in form; its head, if seen from any angle other than the front, is easily distinguished by its short, pointed form (as opposed to the elegant elongated octagon of a mamba's head, aptly described as 'coffin-shaped' from above). Behold:

It might be better if I had a picture of a mamba to compare it to - I don't, but ARKive hosts a number of pictures (click here to visit them) of the species, which show the difference quite clearly.









With those points covered, it's probably time for the taxonomy. The snake itself is

Psammophis mossambicus

(Peters, 1882)

But from here on, it can get messy.  

Snake taxonomy, by the way, is made atrocious by the existence of that enormous waste-bin taxon heretofore known as the family Colubridae, and in an attempt to reflect the actual relationships between snake species, I seem to be using a taxonomy that isn't necessarily used anywhere else; I put this lovely snake in the:

- Psammophiidae

 which is usually treated as a subfamily of the troubling family Lamprophiidae - which is itself still treated by some as a subfamily of the afore-mentioned Colubridae. I'm treating them instead as a sister family within the

- Elapoidea                 

(along with all manner of snakes we'll be discussing in later posts). This is united with the majority of familiar snakes in the:

- Caenophidia              

which does include the various colubrids - although most are venom-less constrictors, the only one featured on the blog thus far is the venomous  Thelotornis capensis. These are united with the boas and pythons in the  

- Alethinophidia        

  which excludes only a very few rather divergent members of the larger:

- Serpentes                  

Which are somewhere in the taxonomic mess otherwise known as the

-Squamata                     

Within which, the snakes cluster with the iguanians (such as Agama armata ), followed by the skinks and wall lizards (e.g. Afroablepharus wahlbergii, Trachylepis varia ,Trachylepis striata wahlbergi and Zootoca vivipara) and eventually the geckos (for example Lygodactylus capensis). All this falls within the:

- Lepidosauria                   

of which the only other extant group is the New Zealand endemic order Rhynchocephalia, the two species of Tuatara.

- Lepidosauromorpha          

- Sauria                                 

Although after this, the taxonomy gets a little more straightforward, this contains the Archosaurs (Crocodiles and dinosaurs, including birds such as Caprimulgus pectoralis, Tockus alboterminatus, Larus argentatus, Sterna hirundo, Burhinus vermiculatus, Troglodytes troglodytes, Megaceryle maxima, Ardea goliath, Chalcophaps indica and Stigmatopelia senegalensis), and should really include the Anapsids - tortoises, turtles and various dead relatives. But that's another story. 

- Diapsida                                  

- Romeriida                                 

- Reptilia                                      

- Amniota                                      

See also Hipposideros vittatus and Syncerus caffer.

- Reptiliomorpha                             

- Tetrapoda                                       

See also Rana temporaria, Chiromantis xerampelina, Breviceps poweri and Kassina senegalensis.

- Sarcopterygii                                    

- Osteichthys                                       

See also Synchiropus splendidus.

- Teleostomi                                          

- Gnathostomata                                     

- Vertebrata                                              

- Craniata                                                  

- Chordata                                                  

- Deuterostomia                                           

- Nephrozoa                                                   

See also Nephila fenestrata, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi, Alopecosa barbipes, Phrynarachne rugosa, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi, Pardosa amentata, Dysdera crocata, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Ligia oceanica, Dichtha inflata, Oedemera nobilis, Otiorhynchus atroapterus,Malachius bipustulatus , Phyllobius pomaceus, Cheilomenes lunata, Melolontha melolontha, Neojulodis vittipennis, Demetrias atricapillus, Anthia fornasinii, Lophyra cf. differens, Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Anthophora furcata, Andrena nigroaenea, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Nemophora degeerella, Sphinx ligustri, Laelia robusta, Acada biseriata, Metisella willemi, Anthocharis cardamines, Papilio demodocus, Panorpa germanica, Chloromyia formosa, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Metadon inermis, Diasemopsis meigenii, Dolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes, Pephricus, Grypocoris stysi, Ranatra, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Idolomantis dentifrons, Sibylla pretiosa, Tettigonia viridissima, Stictogryllacris punctata, Enyaliopsis, Humbe tenuicornis, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Cyathosternum prehensile, Heteropternis thoracica, Pseudothericles jallae, Enallagma cyathigerum, Pseudagrion hageni, Lestinogomphus angustus, Rhyothemis semihyalina, Orthetrum brachiale and Burtoa nilotica.

  - Bilateralia                                                        

- Eumetazoa                                                        

- Animalia                                                             

- Eukaryota                                                             

And, taking the first exit I can see at this point, that is all, folks! 

                                                      

Trachylepis varia (Peters, 1867)

So I know that it can seem that I have a thing about invertebrates, so much that people (well, tourists) have asked me "Do you work in entomology?" or something to that effect.

But my primary fields of study were actually ecology and genetics, and my primary areas of interest are conservation and... herpetology.

This is to placate that unfed interest.

 - Eukaryota
   - Animalia
     - Eumetazoa
       - Bilateralia
         - Nephrozoa -see also Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Pseudagrion hageni, Sybilla, Stictogryllacris punctata, Cyathosternum prehensile, Pephricus, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Ennalagma cyathigerum, Hagenomyia tristis, Synagris proserpina, Melolontha melolontha, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Demetrias atricapillus, Anthia fornasinii, Zebronia phenice, Laelia robusta, Anthocharis cardamines, Acada biseriata, Panorpa germanica, Megistocera filipes, Diasemopsis meigenii, Episyrphus balteatus, Helophus pendulus and Senaspis haemorrhoa
           - Deuterostomia
             - Chordata
               - Craniata
                 - Vertebrata
                   - Gnathostomata
                     - Teleostomi
                       - Osteichthyes
                         - Sarcopterygii
                           - Tetrapoda
                             - Reptiliomorpha
                               - Amniota - see also Hipposideros vittatus.
                                 - Reptilia
                                   - Romeriida
                                     - Diapsida
                                       - Sauria - see also Chalcophaps indica , Ardea goliath and  Sterna hirundo.
                                         - Lepidosauromorpha
                                           - Lepidosauria 
                                             - Squamata
                                               - Scleroglossa - see also Thelotornis capensis and Lygodactylus capensis.
                                                 - Scincomorpha
                                                   - Scincidae
                                                     - Lygosominae

Trachylepis varia

(Peters, 1867)

As you may be able to guess from the specific epithet (varia), this is a rather variable species, which - in addition to the uncharted diversity of tropical african reptiles - makes it a bit difficult to say with certainty that it IS this species. However, based on the facial scales of species of Trachlyepis known in Southern Africa (which Lusaka city is only just outside of), it should be this species. Should being the operative word. 

And here it is: 

Its rather pointed face readily separates this species from the common urban species in the genus, Trachylepis striatus, although in most populations, the overall pattern is sufficient for that. The males were more frequently seen, and seemed to develop earthy-red hindquarters as the breeding season approached:

Both photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia - male in August 2011, female in October 2011. 

 

Acada biseriata (Mabille, 1893)

The axehead skipper...

The skippers - family Hesperiidae, superfamily Hesperoidea - are one of the three groups that make up the butterflies, and more-or-less intermediate in form between the core butterflies (Papilionoidea) and more 'typical' moths. They're

To anyone living in denial, no, we are not going to treat butterflies as distinct from moths. They're not. But more on that in a later post...

For now:

Eukaryota
  Animalia
    Eumetazoa
      Bilateralia
        Nephrozoa See also Thelotornis capensis, Lygodactylus capensis, Chalcophaps indica and Hipposideros vittatus
          Protostomia
            Ecdysozoa
              Arthropoda See also Dicranopalpus ramosus, Enoplognatha ovata and Ligia oceanica
                Hexapoda
                  Insecta
                    Dicondylia
                      Pterygota
                        Metapterygota See also Pseudagrion hageni
                          Neoptera See also: Stictogryllacris cf. punctata, Cyathosternum prehensile and Sybilla.
                            Eumetabola See also: Anoplocnemis curvipes and Pephricus
                              Endopterygota See also: Hagenomyia tristis, Synagris proserpina, Melolontha melolontha, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Demetrias atricapillus and Anthia fornasinii
                                Panorpida See also Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Diasemopsis meigenii, Megistocera filipes and Panorpa germanica
                                  Amphiesmenoptera
                                    Lepidoptera
                                      Glossata
                                        Neolepidoptera
                                          Heteroneura
                                            Ditrysia See also Zebronia phenice
                                              Cossina
                                                Bombycina See also Laelia robusta
                                                  Rhopacera See also Anthocharis cardamines
                                                    Hesperioidea
                                                      Hesperiidae
                                                        Hesperiinae
                                                          Erionotini

Acada biseriata 

(Mabille, 1893)

 Photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia, in February 2013.

Like most skippers, Acada biseriata is small - around about the size of the average man's thumbnail - and easily overlooked among the plethora of butterflies. It's underside, although often a pleasing shade, is also rather unremarkable:

In the hundreds of small butterflies - and no exaggeration - that can be found in the rural areas of subsaharan Africa, this pattern of pale brown markings sets the handful of Acada species apart from most of their neighbours. They are further set apart by the upperwing patterns:

Although all these pictures are taken within Chongwe District, Zambia, this species is widespread - from Kenya to north-eastern provinces of South Africa. In Zambia, it seems to be present in all seasons, but is far more abundant during the mid-to-late rains.

That's all, folks.

Although this species not originally identified through this site, the R. C. Dening Collection is a valuable - if somewhat outdated and a little grim - tool for identifying Zambian butterflies. Care must be taken, however, as although the collection is vast, the diversity of Zambian butterflies, particularly in the Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae, is much vaster.

Lygodactylus capensis (Smith, 1849)

We're going to start with a taxonomically irrelevant discussion for this one.

Some years ago, a university friend of a friend said, upon learning that my primary interest in vertebrates was amphibians and reptiles, "What, the relict groups?"

I should note that he was British.

It is easy to get the impression, in the temperate zones and particularly in Western Europe, that amphibians and reptiles as world-wide groups are insignificant and composed entirely of a few species that are clinging on. Bearing in mind that each group on its own is more diverse than the mammals, and the amphibians almost rival the birds in terms of sheer number of species, this is clearly a false impression. Having considered this, I believe that it can only be perpetuated because of two euro-centric factors:

1) Both groups are composed primarily of ectothermic species, which are usually dependant upon periods of warm weather for breeding, so relatively few species have colonised our cold and geographically (but NOT historically) insignificant peninsula since the beginning of this most recent interglacial.

2) Members of both groups suffer disproportionately (among vertebrates) around human settlements, as they lack the dispersive ability of many birds, and unlike mammals, which have popular appeal, amphibians and reptiles both suffer (quite unjustified) persecution at the hands of many ill-informed persons who variously think they are unsightly, dangerous or even evil.

Which is why snakes could make a very good case suing the Vatican for slander.

Before this becomes a religious argument, though, onto the good news: the kind of news that has large, unblinking eyes, a scaly tail and four (often adhesive) feet.

Geckos. (Eukaryota, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Bilateralia, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Craniata, Vertebrata, Gnathostomata, Teleostomi, Osteichthys, Sarcopterygii, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Amniota, Reptilia, Romeriida, Diapsida, Sauria, Lepidosauromorpha, Lepidosauria, Squamata, Scleroglossa, Gekkota, Gekkonidae)

Many geckos, particularly in the tropics, enjoy a much greater respect from the human population than their less adhesive relatives elsewhere, and a number of species have come to thrive not only on the edges of human settlements, but actually within the concrete hearts, where their habits of eating various pest insects earns them a welcome place in the disused corners of the human home.

Today's species is an imperfect synanthrope, meaning that it can do well out of a certain level of human settlement, but eventually (usually at the point at which people start poisoning ants), it can no longer survive in that environment (in case you didn't work it out, it eats ants. Poisoning ants kills the individuals that then eat those ants, and starves the survivors, who have nothing left to eat. Don't poison ants if you have lizards, frogs or threadsnakes in the area).

Anyway, without further ado;

Lygodactylus capensis

(Smith, 1849)

(Photographed wild in Chongwe District, Lusaka, Zambia in September 2011, Using an Olympus E-420)