identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
AFEF305D0AFB5BE7B2624D53B96CF531.text	AFEF305D0AFB5BE7B2624D53B96CF531.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Dasypeltis albigularis Tiutenko & Heller & Bates 2026	<div><p>Dasypeltis albigularis sp. nov.</p><p>Figs 1 B, 2 A, 4, 8, 10, 11, 13</p><p>Common name.</p><p>White-throated Egg-eater.</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>A medium-sized Dasypeltis (females approximately 90 cm in total length, males less than 60 cm). Dorsally usually uniformly dark-grey or blackish, seldom reddish-brown with faint dark streaks; or light yellow-brown with a dense and irregular pattern of small brown saddles and narrow brown bars on the flanks, and numerous small white markings. Interstitial skin light grey, sometimes bluish, especially in adults. Anterior infralabials, gulars, chin shields and 20–62 anterior ventral plates mostly white, other ventrals gradually transition to ash-grey. Dorsal scales arranged around midbody in 20–23 rows. Scales of the first row of dorsals on either side of the body very weakly keeld or smooth and much larger than other dorsal scales. Scales of the second row on either side of body weakly keeled. Other dorsal scales each with a moderate median keel and a pair of apical pits distally. Head with fine white spots and speckles. Supralabials 7, 3 rd and 4 th bordering orbit. Postocular single. Frontal shield pitted in only one row around edges. Inter-prefrontal sulcus moderately marked, not deep. Prefrontal scales longer and larger overall than internasals. Rostral shield visible from above head.</p><p>Holotype.</p><p>Ethiopia • ♀; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.595276&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.595556" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.595276/lat 6.595556)">approximately 2 km south of Welmel river bridge</a>, south of Hawo village, Harenna Forest; 6°35'44"N, 39°35'43"E; alt. 1659 m; 28 May 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; killed by local villagers on a road; ZSM 629/2025 .</p><p>Paratypes.</p><p>(Six specimens) Ethiopia • 1 ♀; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.641945&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.5238886" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.641945/lat 6.5238886)">glade south of Hawo village</a>, Harenna Forest; 6°31'26"N, 39°38'31"E; alt. 1608 m; 31 May 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; ZSM 630/2025 • 1 juv.; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.583332&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.5833335" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.583332/lat 6.5833335)">Manyate village</a>, Harenna Forest; 6°35'N, 39°35'E; alt. 1550 m; 28 Feb. – 2 Mar. 2026; A. Tiutenko leg.; hatched in captivity; ZSM 251/2026 • 1 juv.; same data as for preceding; ZSM 252/2026 • 1 juv.; same data as for preceding; ZSM 253/2026 • 1 juv.; same data as for preceding; ZSM 254/2026 • 1 juv.; same data as for preceding; ZSM 255/2026 .</p><p>Additional referred material.</p><p>Ethiopia • 1 juv.; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.583332&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.5833335" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.583332/lat 6.5833335)">Manyate village</a>, Harenna Forest; 6°35'N, 39°35'E; alt. 1550 m; 5 Mar. 2026; A. Tiutenko leg.; failed to hatch from an egg deposited in captivity; ZSM 256/2026 .</p><p>Live specimens: Ethiopia • 1 ♀; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.745556&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.4852777" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.745556/lat 6.4852777)">Manyate village</a>, Harenna Forest; 6°29'07"N, 39°44'44"E; alt. 1554 m; 30 May 2019; A. Tiutenko leg.; ZSM 94/2019 • 1 ♂; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.583332&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.5833335" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.583332/lat 6.5833335)">Manyate village</a>, Harenna Forest; 6°35'N, 39°35'E; alt. 1550 m; 26 May 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; HFE 2025-002 (field number) • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; HFE 2025-003 (field number) • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; 2 June 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; HFE 2025-050 (field number) • 1 ♀; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.643333&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.5261106" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.643333/lat 6.5261106)">south of Hawo village</a>, Harenna Forest, in a glade in the forest while crossing a road after sunset; 6°31'34"N, 39°38'36"E; alt. 1663 m; 30 May 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; HFE 2025-023 (field number) • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; 31 May 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; HFE 2025-031 (field number); • 1 ♂; <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=39.641945&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=6.5238886" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 39.641945/lat 6.5238886)">south of Hawo village</a>, Harenna Forest, in a glade in the forest while crossing a road after sunset; 6°31'26"N, 39°38'31"E; alt. 1608 m; 31 May 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; HFE 2025-032 (field number) ; • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; 31 May 2025; A. Tiutenko leg.; HFE 2025-33 (field number) .</p><p>Description of the holotype.</p><p>ZSM 629/2025, adult female (Fig. 8). Body elongated, cylindrical. Dorsal scales on the body ovate and obtusely pointed, moderately unicarinate, those of the 3 rd to 5 th rows on either side reduced in size and obliquely positioned, with serrated keels; scales of the first row on either side are more-or-less rhomboid, very feebly carinate, and approximately one-and-a-half-times larger than those of the second row on either side which are of a similar shape but feebly carinate. Head small (HL 15.24 mm), HL / SVL 0.03 (head damaged posteriorly). SVL 508 mm, TL 74 mm, MDR 23, V 236, SC 52. Fourth and fifth ventral plates merged in the middle, plate 235 incomplete. Preoculars 1; postoculars 2; nasal scale divided between nostril and first supralabial. Temporals 1 + 2 + 3, scales of 2 nd and 3 rd transverse rows are keeled and equal in size and shape to dorsals. Supralabials 7, 3 rd and 4 th entering orbit; sixth supralabial the largest, approximately double the size of 3 rd and 4 th. Infralabials 7, 1 st to 3 rd in contact with the anterior chin shield, 4 th in contact with posterior chin shield. Colouration (soon after death): uniformly black above, ventrally uniformly black or ash-grey except for anterior infralabials, chin shields, gulars and anterior 31 ventral plates which are white or partly white. The first 21 plates are white medially and gradually merge into grey on the sides. Some white speckles are visible up to ventral plate 31. After over a year in ethanol, white parts now cream-yellow, otherwise colouration unchanged.</p><p>Variation.</p><p>There is minor variation in the scale counts of paratypes and additional referred material (Table 1).</p><p>The juvenile female paratype ZSM 630/2025 (Fig. 10) has temporals arranged as 2 + 2 + 3. Temporals in the first two rows are, unlike in the holotype, smooth, elongate, and larger than the dorsals.</p><p>In ZSM 255/2026, the 4 th to 6 th subcaudals are entire, and the posteriormost ventral plate is half the size of the preceding one; the white on the underside reaches the 20 th ventral plate. Plates 21 and 22 are moderately speckled with white, and plate 23 has only a few white spots. From plate 24 onwards, the ventrum is uniformly black. ZSM 251/2026 has particularly extensive white on the ventral surface: Ventral plates 1–62 are white, and white speckles are visible up to and including plate 82.</p><p>All specimens of the new species had some aberrant ventrals and subcaudals. This is not known to occur with such regularity in other Dasypeltis species. The wild-caught specimens of D. albigularis sp. nov. had at least one such scale, whereas all hatchlings of the first clutch obtained in captivity had several (e. g. Fig. 12). The hatchlings of the second clutch produced by the same female had few or no such aberrations. It thus remains to be investigated whether abnormal ventral and subcaudal scales are usual for this species or are an occasional developmental artefact resulting from some individual condition of the parents or from environmental parameters of incubation. However, this phenomenon was not observed in D. atra hatched from eggs incubated under the same conditions.</p><p>The female ZSM 94/2019 (Fig. 2) is currently the largest known specimen of this species, with a SVL of 80 cm and a TL of 12 cm. This snake hatched from an egg laid in 2018. Body size did not increase significantly after it reached the age of 2 years. Therefore, its current total length of 92 cm at the age of approximately 8 years is considered likely to be the maximum length for this species, although adult size in the wild is expected to be smaller. As noted above, this specimen has a small scale located between the nasal, prefrontal and internasal scales on either side of the head (Fig. 2 B). In addition, on the left side of the head, it has a scale between the nasal and the preocular that would normally be identified as a loreal (generally absent in Dasypeltis).</p><p>HFE 2025-023 (Fig. 4), a young female, is pale brown with a dense pattern of dark brown markings consisting of small, mostly narrow and transversely slightly to distinctly enlarged saddles in the vertebral region, starting at the nape and extending to the tip of the tail, and somewhat narrow, often irregular bars of similar colour on the flanks. The saddles are sometimes blotch-like or in the form of two attached spots side by side or one in front of the other, and in parts, several such confluent spots form a zigzag dorsal stripe. Scales that constitute the saddles and lateral bars usually have dark brown edges. In the case of the bars, these darker edges are often confluent, resulting in undulating or slightly irregular dark streaks. Saddles and bars are mostly not confluent but occasionally form narrow bands across the back. The dorsum is also liberally decorated with small white markings (on the edges of dorsal scales), usually slightly elongated (anteroposteriorly); the largest of these are present between the saddles, but they occur all over the body, becoming less common and prominent on the tail. The pattern of dark markings is not visible in the exuvia. Bluish interstitial skin is most prominent posteriorly, such that the posterior half of the body has a bluish tint. As in black specimens of this species, the underside of the head and the anterior 25 ventral plates are white. The head is a combination of pale brown and grey (especially greyish on the sides), with scattered, small, dark brown or white spots; there is a conspicuous row of 4–5 white, dash-like markings medially on the back of the head; the eye is orange-brown with small dark markings, and the pupil is vertically elliptic. Underparts are mostly pale olive green with numerous scattered small white spots, but laterally the ventral plates are cream-brown, similar in colour to the first two rows of dorsals on either side. The edges of the scales of the latter two rows are, in parts, dark brown, forming a series of three broken stripes along the flanks.</p><p>All other additional specimens are dorsally black and ventrally mostly dark grey. Infralabials, chin shields, gulars, and up to 25 anterior ventral plates are white. However, all specimens (not only those hatched in captivity but also wild-caught ones) have some malformed ventrals and subcaudals at different positions, where ventrals extend to half or less of the body width and undivided subcaudals are mixed with paired ones (e. g. Fig. 12).</p><p>Comparisons with related species.</p><p>Dasypeltis albigularis sp. nov., with a currently known maximum total length of 92 cm, is considerably smaller than its closest relatives – D. atra and D. gansi . For comparison, the largest known female D. atra (ZSM 328/2023) is 108 cm in total length, and the largest specimen of D. gansi (ZSM 326/2023) recorded so far measures 112 cm. The previously reported maximum size for D. gansi was 110 cm (Bates and Ineich 2012). The hatchlings of D. albigularis sp. nov., with weights of 2.17–2.34 g (n = 23), are also much lighter than hatchlings of D. atra, which are often up to 1 g heavier.</p><p>The new species has smooth or almost smooth scales in the first row of dorsals on either side of the body, and feebly keeled scales in the second row of dorsal scales on either side, whereas these scales are normally more strongly keeled in other species studied (Fig. 14). However, scales in the first row were found to be smooth in some specimens in museum collections that are currently identified as D. atra (see Suppl. material 4).</p><p>The scales in rows 3–5 that are used by the snakes of this genus for stridulation, i. e. creating a rasping sound by rubbing together the sides of the body, are smoother and flatter than in other species we compared them to. Therefore, the new species does not appear to be as well adapted for stridulation as, for example, D. confusa, D. gansi, and D. scabra, in which these scales are strongly serrated and acutely angled (Fig. 14). None of the specimens of D. albigularis sp. nov. observed produced sounds in this way. Similarly, D. atra and D. fasciata, whose scales in rows 3–5 are relatively moderately serrated, seem not to stridulate. However, the latter three species, when highly irritated, coil their bodies in the same way as congeners do when stridulating.</p><p>The new species differs from all other species of Dasypeltis, except for D. atra, by its usually uniformly black dorsal colour. However, in live black specimens, the dorsal and ventral colouration is lighter than in D. atra (Fig. 1). As in D. atra, a brown phase is known. A photographic record of such a specimen found at the type locality was received from a villager (Fig. 13). However, such snakes are not completely plain but have a feeble pattern of dark streaks dorsally. From D. atra, the new species also differs by having pale grey or bluish (versus dark grey) interstitial skin and white or mostly white infralabials, chin shields, gulars, and anterior ventral scales (versus black or grey underparts, although the throat may occasionally be pale, see Suppl. material 4). The white ‘ throat’ is also evident in fully patterned specimens (Fig. 4). The colour pattern described above for patterned D. albigularis sp. nov. is unique in that the dorsal saddles are smaller, narrower, often blotch-like, and even confluent, forming zigzag patterns in parts, and the lateral markings are narrower and less regular. In D. atra, similarly patterned individuals (such as those illustrated in fig. 17 G, H in Bates and Broadley 2018) have bolder dorsal markings.</p><p>The colour pattern in D. albigularis sp. nov. also differs from that of the parapatric, yet-to-be-named Dasypeltis sp. ‘ Borena’, which has reddish dorsal colouration with a feeble, ‘ 5 L’ - type pattern of brown markings (after Gans 1959). Moreover, the dorsal scales of D. sp. ‘ Borena’ lack apical pits (Fig. 14 E), whereas these are present in D. atra and D. albigularis sp. nov. (Fig. 14 A, B), as well as in their close relatives D. gansi and D. fasciata (Fig. 14 C, D). In addition, in contrast to D. sp. ‘ Borena’, D. albigularis sp. nov. has a single (versus 2) postocular scale.</p><p>The other species of this genus found in the Horn of Africa – D. abyssina, D. crucifera, D. scabra sensu lato, and D. taylori – belong to clades that are more distantly related to D. albigularis sp. nov. and, therefore, are not immediately comparable.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The specific Latin epithet ‘ albigularis’ means ‘ white-throated’ and refers to the pale ventral colouration on the lower parts of the head and anterior parts of the body of the new species.</p><p>Distribution, habitat, and ecology.</p><p>Dasypeltis albigularis sp. nov. is known only from the Harenna Forest (Fig. 9) at elevations of 1,500–1,700 m asl. This vegetation zone was classified by Friis (1986) as Podocarpus ‒ Filicium forest situated between 1,450 and 1,900 m asl. Bussmann (1997) described it as a submontane zone with a “ Podocarpo falcati – Coffeetum arabicae ” plant community. The new species may have a wider range in the forested areas of the southern Somalian Plateau, where similar habitat is available.</p><p>The habitat of D. albigularis sp. nov. at the type locality is dense deciduous forest with tall trees such as Afrocarpus, Celtis, Cassipourea, Croton, Ekebergia, Filicium, Syzygium, and Warburgia . The undergrowth is, to a large extent, composed of wild and semi-wild Coffea arabica . Dasypeltis albigularis sp. nov. was also found in villages and plantations, as well as at the margins of glades within the forest (Fig. 9). Day temperatures in the rainy season usually do not exceed 25 ° C. In the dry season, hot, sunny days are frequent. The usual night temperatures throughout the year are 13–17 ° C, but in the dry season these can drop to 10 ° C.</p><p>Natural history.</p><p>Dasypeltis albigularis sp. nov. is a scansorial snake displaying a degree of arboreality similar to that of D. atra, D. fasciata, and D. gansi, i. e. adults occupy trees and descend to the ground only when searching for prey or a mating partner, as well as for egg deposition. Despite their arboreal way of life, and similarly to other species of this genus, D. albigularis sp. nov. are slow tree-climbers. When in danger, instead of climbing higher up on branches, they deliberately fall to the ground, where they attempt to escape from intruders.</p><p>The diet comprises bird eggs of suitable size, but relatively soft-shelled eggs of tree-nesting bird species are preferred. Large females consume prey up to the size of a small chicken egg. Once the snake has found a nest, it visits it several times until all eggs are eaten. Eggs are consumed at all developmental stages, including those containing an almost fully developed embryo. The annual activity cycles of this species is synchronised with the breeding cycles of birds and with the local climate. In the dry season, starting in December and usually ending in late March, D. albigularis sp. nov., like all other reptiles in this habitat, remains hidden.</p><p>The mating season is in summer, at which time males chase females and usually bite them to prevent them from moving and to allow time for alignment of their cloacae. Such behaviour was recently reported in D. atra (Tiutenko 2024) and is also known to occur in D. gansi and D. inornata according to unpublished reports by snake breeders. As in these species, the copulating male and female remain attached to each other for 11–18 h. Gestation lasts 3–4 months. Females first deposit eggs in October – November in wet soil, usually under a wooden log or similar object. To find a suitable oviposition site, females crawl on the ground for about 7–10 days before oviposition. The number of eggs in a single clutch is similar to that of D. atra and varies from 7 to 22, depending on the condition of the female and the number of clutches already produced after mating. The first clutch of the season is usually the largest and the last one the smallest. The size and shape of eggs in a single clutch varies quite substantially (Fig. 15). The interval between clutches is about 3 months, i. e. a female that has just laid eggs, if well fed, usually becomes gravid again soon after oviposition. Eggs hatch after about 3 months of incubation at temperatures of 22–23 ° C. Dasypeltis atra eggs hatch in January – February, i. e. approximately 2 or 3 months earlier than those of D. albigularis sp. nov., which hatch at the beginning of the rainy season in April and May. This can be explained by the nesting season of birds, which begins earlier in equatorial East Africa (Stevenson and Fanshawe 2002). In D. atra, incubation at the same temperature takes about 20 days longer.</p><p>As usual in Dasypeltis, the hatching process takes several days. After cutting open the egg shell, the young snake remains in the eggs for up to a day and usually emerges at night. Hatchlings, often several individuals coiled together, hide on the ground in grass tussocks, under pieces of bark or logs, in leaf litter, or bury themselves in soil until their first ecdysis, i. e. for up to 2 weeks after hatching. After their first shedding, they move around, actively searching for bird eggs. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of about 3 years in males and at or before 2 years in females.</p><p>As in all Dasypeltis, the new species is crepuscular and nocturnal. In captivity, these snakes were observed to be most active from 17.00–18.00 until midnight. Sometimes, they appeared again at 06.00–08.00. In their natural habitat, nights may be too cold for them to remain active.</p><p>In May and early June, in the season of ‘ small rains’, D. albigularis sp. nov. of all ages are the most frequently encountered snakes in the Harenna Forest. However, this species was not encountered in the main rainy season between July and December, although sympatric snakes of the genera Philothamnus and Pseudoboodon were common at such times. The reasons for the reduced activity of egg-eaters at such times may be related to the end of the breeding season for birds and the snakes’ habit of remaining high up in the branches of trees. In this season, D. albigularis sp. nov. spends most of its time in elevated hideouts. Captive snakes generally feed throughout the year, but adult males usually refuse food in the dry season (December – April).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/AFEF305D0AFB5BE7B2624D53B96CF531	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Tiutenko, Arthur;Heller, Tim L.;Bates, Michael F.	Tiutenko, Arthur, Heller, Tim L., Bates, Michael F. (2026): A new species of ‘ black’ egg-eating snake of the genus Dasypeltis Wagler (Squamata, Colubridae, Colubrinae, Boigini). Herpetozoa 39: 343-366, DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.39.e205043
