Psammophis aegyptius Marx, 1958:194

Bauer, Aaron M., DeBoer, Jonathan C. & Taylor, Dylan J., 2017, Atlas of the Reptiles of Libya, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64 (8), pp. 155-318 : 254-256

Psammophis aegyptius Marx, 1958:194 , figs. 30C, 31C

1958 Psammophis aegyptius Marx, Egyptian snakes of the genus Psammophis . Fieldiana: Zoology 39(18):191–200.

HOLOTYPE.— FMNH 75092 , “date grove near the government house at Siwa , Siwa Oasis, Western Desert Governorate, Egypt.”

Psammophis schokari aegyptius, Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963:519 .

Psammophis aegyptius, Schleich, Kästle, and Kabisch 1996:513 .

Psammophis aegyptius, Trape and Mané 2006:146 .

Psammophis aegyptius, Sindaco, Venchi, and Grieco 2013:167 .

DISTRIBUTION.— Southern Algeria through Niger, southern Libya, and most of Egypt (including southern Sinai) to extreme southern Israel, a single record in southwestern Chad (Sindaco et al. 2013). In Libya they have been recorded around Tripoli (based on three FMNH specimens) and in the southern half of the country ( Schleich et al. 1996). See Figure 56.

Libyan Records (Map 58): TRIPOLITA-

NIA: TRIPOLI: 39: FMNH 83054. 45: FMNH

83055. JABAL AL GHARBI: 154: FMNH 82957.

FEZZAN: MURZUQ: 314: SK 1482; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 320: SK 1483;

Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963; Schnurrenberger 1962. 322: SK 1412; Kramer and

Schnurrenberger 1963. 323: SK 1744–46,

1891–96, 2424–25, 2427; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 326: MCSN 2999; Kramer and

Schnurrenberger 1963. 328: SK 1143; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 331: MCSN 2753;

SK 1140–41; Kramer and Schnurrenberger

1963. Scortecci 1935b; Loveridge 1940;

Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 332: SK

1090; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963.

CYRENAICA: KUFRAH: 568: MZUF 971,

20197; Scortecci 1935c; Loveridge 1940; MAP 58. Distribution of Psammophis aegyptius in Libya. Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 569: Records from near-coastal northwestern Libya need further confirmation.

MCSN 2752; Scortecci 1935b; Zavattari 1937;

Loveridge 1940. 570: Scortecci 1935c; Loveridge 1940. 571: Scortecci 1935b; Zavattari 1937; Loveridge 1940. 573: Loveridge 1940. 575: MCSN 3206; MG 31605; MSNG 31585*; ZMB 18160–61; Peters 1880, 1881; Werner 1909; Ghigi 1913; Zavattari 1929, 1930, 1934; Vinciguerra 1931; Scortecci 1939; Loveridge 1940; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 578: MCSN 2755. 580a: MCSN 2759; Scortecci 1935b. 584: MCSN 3208; MZUF 962, 2497, 20194; Scortecci 1935c; Loveridge 1940; Zavattari 1937; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 585: MZUF 964; Scortecci 1937c; Loveridge 1940. “ Eastern Libya ”: Sochurek 1979.

COMMENTS.— Older records from Libya were mostly referred to P. schokari . Records in neighboring Egypt are mostly south of 30° ( Baha El Din 2006a) so northern records in Libya, which have not been accepted by some authors (e.g., Geniez 2015) need confirmation. However, the Tripoli records are relatively recent and are unlikely to be erroneous, although they may reflect the over generalization of locality. We follow Kramer and Schnurrenberger (1963) in assigning whipsnake records from Kufrah by Peters (1880, 1881) to this species.

IUCN Threat Status: Not assessed, but assumed to be Least Concern.

Psammophis schokari ( Forskål 1775:14) (FIG. 33)

1775 Coluber schokari Forskål, Descriptiones animalium, avium, amphibiorum, piscium, insectorum, vermium; quae in itinere Orientali observavit Petrus Forskål. Mölleri, Hainiae [Copenhagen], xxxiv + 164 pp.

NEOTYPE.— FMNH 66153 , designated by Marx (1958a), “ Hodeida (= Al Hudaydah), Yemen ” by neotype selection. The original description provides scale counts for two syntypes, both appertly lost, from “ Yemen.”

Psammophis schokari schokari, Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963:517 .

Psammophis shokari [sic], Le Berre 1989:270.

Psammophis sibilans [part], Le Berre 1989:266.

Psammophis schokari, Schleich, Kästle, and Kabisch 1996:515 .

Psammophis sibilans [part], Schleich, Kästle, and Kabisch 1996:515.

Psammophis schokari, Trape and Mané 2006:152 .

Psammophis schokari, Sindaco, Venchi, and Grieco 2013:133 .

DISTRIBUTION.— Widely distributed across North Africa from Senegal to Morocco and across the continent to Sinai and south to

Ethiopia and Somalia, with scattered records from Mali and possibly Niger (but see Trape and Mané 2015). In Asia from Israel, Jordan,

Syria, and the Arabian Peninsula to Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and north-

FIGURE 33. Psammophis schokari from Murzuq, Fezzan, western India. Libyan records are from across Libya. Photo © Adel Ibrahim.

the entire country except Kufrah.

Libyan Records (Map 59): NUQAT AL

KHAMS: 9: MCSN 4203. JAFARA: 29: MCSN

4220. TRIPOLI: 39: USNM 56019. 45: NHMW

25747; Werner 1909; Ghigi 1913; Zavattari

1934; Scortecci 1939; Loveridge 1940.

MURQUB: 60: Peters 1880, 1881; Werner 1909;

Gighi 1913; Zavattari 1934. 61: BMNH

1901.10.28. 9. 62: CUP R 068; Frynta et al.

2000. MISRATAH: 73: SK 338; Kramer and

Schnurrenberger 1963. 77: MCSN 4200. 80:

NMBE 29534; MSNG 29534; Boulenger 1914;

Zavattari 1934; Scortecci 1939; Loveridge

1940; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 84:

MCSN 4202 . NALUT: 104 : BMNH 1960.1.6. 3;

Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. JABAL AL

GHARBI: 131: SK 2445; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 141: MCSN 4199. 148: SK MAP 59. Distribution of Psammophis schokari in Libya. 198, 330; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963.

149: SK 237; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 154: FMNH 82956. SIRTE: 174: MSNM [no specific number given]; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 85: MCSN 4201. “ Bir Milrha to Giofra ”: Loveridge 1940. “ Tripolitania settentrionale ”: Zavattari 1937. FEZZAN: WADI AL SHATII: 211: Scortecci 1937; Zavattari 1937a; Loveridge 1940. JUFRA: 213: NMBE 29535; MSNG 56909, 57811; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 217: Zavattari 1937. 221: MCSN 2778; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 224: SK 2710; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 226: MCSN 2748; Scortecci 1935b; Loveridge 1940; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. GHAT: 234: MCSN 2757; Schnurrenberger 1958b. 249: MCSN 2745, 2747, 2762, 2781; Scortecci 1939. 253: MCSN 3244. WADI AL HAYAA: 269: MCSN 2744; Zavattari 1934; Essghaier et al. 2015. 276: Sindaco, pers. obs. 4/25/2008. SABHA: 281: AIC 2006.1543; Ibrahim 2008a. 290: Schnurrenberger 1962. 291: SK 1099–100, 1835; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. MURZUQ: 298: ZCT 2005.20; Ibrahim 2008a. 303: Zavattari 1937; Loveridge 1940; Essghaier et al. 2015. 310: ZCT 2006.07; Ibrahim 2008a. 313: ZCT 2006.22; Ibrahim 2008a. 318: SK 2700–01; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963; Schnurrenberger 1963; Ibrahim 2008a. 325: ZCT 2006.44; Ibrahim 2008a. CYRENAICA: BENGHAZI: 378: SK 26-27. JABAL AL AKHDAR: 434: CM 91614; FMNH 214915; Resetar 1981. 457: KNP 1981/3664 [2 specimens]; ZSM 1983/148; Schleich 1987. 457bg: Schleich 1987. 457bh: Schleich 1987. 457bs: Schleich 1987. 457cx: Schleich 1987. 457r: Schleich 1987. 457t: Schleich 1987. BUTNAN: 505: NMBE 29536; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 511: ZSM 150/1983; Loveridge 1940. 517: Vinciguerra 1927; Zavattari 1929, 1930. 521: Vinciguerra 1927; Zavattari 1930, 1934, 1937; Scortecci 1939; Loveridge 1940. AL WAHAT: 531: SK 86, 181, 626, 2711; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 536: SK 197, 236; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 544: MCSN 4219; BMNH 1960.1.6. 1–2; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 546: MCSN 3004. 547: SK 79, 169–70; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 548: SK 199, 390, 543; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 553: MCSN 3207. 564: NMBE 29585, NMBE [no specific number given]; MCSN 3205; MSNG 31585*; Zavattari 1929, 1930, 1934, 1937; Vinciguerra 1931; Scortecci 1939; Loveridge 1940; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. “ Cyrenaica ”: MCSN 4218; NHMW 19238; Condorelli-Francaviglia 1896; Werner 1909; Ghigi 1913; Calabresi 1923.

COMMENTS.— Some earlier references to P. sibilans in Libya are likely attributable to P. schokari , whereas some pre-1958 records of P. schokari may actually refer to P. aegyptius (Sindaco et al. 2013) . A molecular phylogeny by Rato et al. (2007) did not include Libyan samples.

UCN Threat Status: Not assessed, but assumed to be Least Concern.