Psammophis mossambicus Peters, 1882

Figure 8W

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Nganzi; –5.5297, 12.3280; 96 m a.s.l.; EI 809; GenBank: PQ456014. • between Dinge and Chindende; –5.0835, 12.3677; 92 m a.s.l.; EI 816; GenBank: PQ456015 .

Identification. Psammophis mossambicus has remarkable colour polymorphism across its distribution, contrasting with very little genetic variation (Keates 2021). The specimens reported here were genetically identical and differ by <1% (16S p -distance) from other material from Angola (Keates 2021).

Biology and distribution. A diurnal, widely distributed species in sub-Saharan savannahs but absent from desert, semi-deserts and rainforest (Keates 2021). In Cabinda Province the species is only known to occur in the Littoral Peneplain and the Coastal Drier Belt, from where these new records are reported.