Boaedon perisilvestris Trape & Mediannikov, 2016

Pauwels, Olivier S. G., Morelle, Stephan, Albert, Jean-Louis, Carlino, Piero, Rahola, Nil & Trape, Jean-François, 2019, New reptile records from Lékédi Park and Haut-Ogooué Province, southeastern Gabon, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 174) 13 (1), pp. 143-161 : 153

Boaedon perisilvestris Trape & Mediannikov, 2016

A young individual was encountered by SM at night near buildings in Bakoumba on 23 March 2016 ( Fig. 26 ). It was aggressive and bit when handled. It showed a vertical pupil, one preocular, in contact with the frontal, two postoculars, one loreal, eight supralabials with three (3 rd – 5 th) in contact with the orbit, one anterior temporal, 29 smooth dorsal scale rows at midbody, the vertebral row not widened, a single anal plate, divided subcaudals, two poorly contrasted stripes on each side of the head, and a uniform blackish dorsum without light stripes. An adult female individual showing the same head scalation characteristics, but no stripes on the sides of the head (as is typical for adults, according to Trape and Mediannikov 2016) was found on 26 December 2016 inside a dried well in Lékédi Park. It was resting near the six oblong, white eggs it had just laid. The adult female RBINS 18505 (see Appendix 1) was found by SM in Lékédi Park on 18 November 2016. It contains six large eggs, the largest with a length of 32 mm and a maximum width of 12 mm; its stomach contains the remains of a micromammal. The young individual RBINS 18482 (see Appendix 1) was found in Moanda, Lébombi-Léyou Dept. on 20 November 2016 at 7h00. Its temporal formula is 1+2+3 on each side. Another individual (RBINS 18506; see Appendix 1) was found by SM in Moanda on 5 November 2016; it also shows a temporal formula of 1+2+3 on each side. The adult female RMCA 29885 (see Appendix 1) was collected in ‘‘Munana, près de Moanda’’ [= Mounana near Moanda, in Lébombi-Léyou Dept.] in 1969–1970 by M. Gauduin. It shows vertical pupils. New record for both Depts. and for the park. Within Gabon, this recently described species was known only from Franceville in Passa Dept. ( Pauwels et al. 2017e).

Figures

Fig. 26. Young Boaedon perisilvestris in Bakoumba, Haut- Ogooué Prov., southeastern Gabon. Photograph by S. Morelle.