Chilorhinophis gerardi explained
Chilorhinophis gerardi, commonly known as the Congo two-headed snake, Gerard's black and yellow burrowing snake, and Gerard's two-headed snake, is a species of mildly venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae. The species is endemic to Africa.
Etymology
The specific name, gerardi, is in honor of Belgian physician and naturalist Pol Gérard (1886-1961) who collected the type specimen.[1]
Geographic range
C. gerardi is found in southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire), Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of C. gerardi is savanna, at altitudes up to .
Reproduction
C. gerardi is oviparous.
Subspecies
Two subspecies of C. gerardi are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.
- Chilorhinophis gerardi gerardi
- Chilorhinophis gerardi tanganyikae
Nota bene
A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Chilorhinophis.
Further reading
- Barbour T, Amaral A (1927). "Studies on African Ophidia". Bulletin of the Antivenin Institute of America 1 (1): 25–27.
- Boulenger GA (1913). "Description de deux reptiles nouveaux provenant du Katanga ". Revue Zoologique Africaine 3: 103–105. (Apostolepis gerardi, new species, pp. 103–104, Figure). (in French).
- Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Chilorhinophis gerardi, p. 67 + Plate 24).
- Loveridge A (1951). "On Reptiles and Amphibians from Tanganyika Territory Collected by C. J. P. Ionides". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 106 (4): 175–204. (Chilorhinophis gerardi tanganyikae, new subspecies, pp. 195–196).
- Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. . (Chilorhinophis gerardi, p. 465).
Notes and References
- [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
