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Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. (www.repfocus.dk).
Latest update: December 31st, 2022.


Taxonomy of the family Lamprophiidae
Bibliography of the genus Amblyodipsas
Biodiversity of the family Lamprophiidae








Genus
Amblyodipsas

Purple-glossed Snakes and Quill-snouted Snakes

Purpurglanznattern und Federschnauzennattern

Purpurglanssnoge og Pensnoge

1849 Choristodon Smith [not Choristodon Jonas 1844 (Mollusca)] (type species: Choristodon concolor Smith 1849)
1857 Amblyodipsas Peters (type species: Calamaria microphthalma Bianconi 1852)
1858 Xenocalamus Günther (type species: Xenocalamus bicolor Günther 1868; syn. Figueroa, KcKelvy, Grismer, Bell & Lailvaux 2016)
1866 Calamelaps Günther (type species: Calamaria unicolor Reinhardt 1843
1888 Rhinocalamus Günther (type species: Rhinocalamus dimidiatus Günther 1888)
1895 Clothelaps Jan (type species: Atractaspis hildebrandtii Peters 1877)
1915 Micaela Werner (type species: Micaela pernasuta Werner 1915)
1947 Choristocalamus Witte & Laurent [substitute name for Choristodon Smith 1849]
Contents: 14 species, of which 4 (28.6%) are endemic.
Endemism: 0% 100%
Other common names:
Amblyodipsas (traditionally): Purple-glossed Snakes
Xenocalamus: Quill-snouted Snakes
Distribution: SubSaharan Africa.
Reported from: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique (incl. Bazaruto Archipelago), Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa (Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Northern Cape), South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Amblyodipsas bicolor

Bicoloured Quill-snouted Snake, Variable Quill-snouted Snake, Slender Quill-snouted Snake

Zweifarbige Federschnauzennatter

Tofarvet Pensnog

1868 Xenocalamus bicolor Günther
Amblyodipsas bicolor Figueroa, KcKelvy, Grismer, Bell & Lailvaux 2016
1907 Xenocalamus bicolor lineatus Roux
Xenocalamus lineatus Broadley & Blaylock 2013
1915 Micaela pernasuta Werner (Mertens 1971)
Xenocalamus bicolor pernasutus Mertens 1955
1932 Xenocalamus bicolor maculatus Fitzsimons (Broadley 1983)
1940 Xenocalamus bicolor concavorostralis Hoffman (Broadley 1983; Bates 1991, 1992)
1946 Xenocalamus bicolor australis Fitzsimons
1954 Xenocalamus bicolor machadoi Laurent

Other common names:
australis: Waterberg Quill-snouted Snake
lineatus: Striped Quill-snouted Snake
Remarks: Broadley & Blaylock (2013), followed by Wallach, Williams & Boundy (2014), treated lineatus as a separate species, but without discussion.
Distribution: Angola, Botswana, Congo-Kinshasa, Malawi, Mozambique (incl. Bazaruto Archipelago), Namibia, South Africa (Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Northern Cape), Zambia, Zimbabwe.


Amblyodipsas concolor

Natal Purple-glossed Snake, KwaZulu-Natal Purple-glossed Snake

Natal-Purpurglanznatter

Natal-purpurglanssnog

1849 Choristodon concolor Smith
Calamelaps concolor Boulenger 1896
Choristocalamus concolor Witte & Laurent 1947
Amblyodipsas concolor Broadley 1971
1905 Calamelaps mironi Mocquard (Broadley 1983)

Distribution: Eswatini, South Africa (Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga),


Amblyodipsas dimidiata

Mpwapwa Purple-glossed Snake

Mpwapwa-Purpurglanznatter

Mpwapwa-purpurglanssnog

1888 Rhinocalamus dimidiatus Günther
Amblyodipsas dimidiata Broadley 1971

Distribution: Tanzania.


Amblyodipsas katangensis

Katanga Purple-glossed Snake, Wedge-snouted Purple-glossed Snake

Katanga-Purpurglanznatter, Keilschnauzen-Purpurglanznatter

Katanga-purpurglanssnog, Kilesnudet Purpurglanssnog

1942 Amblyodipsas katangensis Witte & Laurent
1951 Amblyodipsas katangensis ionidesi Loveridge

Other common names:
ionidesi: Ionides' Purple-glossed Snake
Distribution: Congo-Kinshasa, Tanzania, Zambia.


Amblyodipsas mechowii

Elongate Quill-snouted Snake

Angolische Federschnauzennatter

Angolansk Pensnog

1881 Xenocalamus mechowii Peters
Amblyodipsas mechowii Figueroa, KcKelvy, Grismer, Bell & Lailvaux 2016
1947 Xenocalamus mechowii inornatus Witte & Laurent

Distribution: Angola, Botswana, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.


Amblyodipsas michelli

Katanga Quill-snouted Snake, (Michell's Purple-glossed Snake)

Katanga-Federschnauzennatter

Katanga-pensnog

1911 Xenocalamus michelli Müller
Amblyodipsas michelli Figueroa, KcKelvy, Grismer, Bell & Lailvaux 2016

Distribution: Congo-Kinshasa.


Amblyodipsas microphthalma

Eastern Purple-glossed Snake, White-lipped Snake

Östliche Purpurglanznatter

Østlig Purpurglanssnog

1852 Calamaria microphthalma Bianconi
Amblyodipsas microphthalma Peters 1856
1986 Amblyodipsas microphthalma nigra Jacobsen

Other common names:
nigra: Soutpansberg Purple-glossed Snake
Distribution: Mozambique (incl. Bazaruto Archipelago), South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo).


Amblyodipsas polylepis

Common Purple-glossed Snake, Angolan Purple-glossed Snake, Twenty-one-scaled Purple-glossed Snake

Gewöhnliche Purpurglanznatter

Almindelig Purpurglanssnog

1873 Calamelaps polylepis Bocage
Calamelaps unicolor polylepis Loveridge 1942
Amblyodipsas polylepis Broadley 1971
1877 Atractaspis Hildebrandtii Peters
Amblyodipsas polylepis hildebrandtii Broadley 1971
1888 Calamelaps miolepis Günther (Broadley 1983)
Calamelaps unicolor miolepis Broadley 1966
1908 Calamelaps warreni Boulenger (Broadley 1983)
Calamelaps unicolor warreni Loveridge 1957
1915 Calamelaps mellandi Boulenger (Broadley 1983)

Other common names:
hildebrandtii: Tanzanian Purple-glossed Snake
Remarks: Loveridge (1957) regarded hildebrandti as a synonym of unicolor.
Distribution: Angola, Botswana, Congo-Kinshasa, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West Province), Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.


Amblyodipsas rodhaini

Congolese Purple-glossed Snake, (Rodhain's Purple-glossed Snake)

Kongolesische Purpurglanznatter

Congolesisk Purpurglanssnog

1930 Rhinocalamus Rodhaini Witte
Calamelaps rodhaini Witte & Laurent 1947
Amblyodipsas rodhaini Broadley 1971
1951 Calamelaps ventrimaculatus katangensis Witte [not Amblyodipsas katangensis Witte & Laurent 1942]

Distribution: Congo-Kinshasa.


Amblyodipsas sabiensis

Sabi Quill-snouted Snake, Save Quill-snouted Snake

Sabi-Federschnauzennatter

Sabi-pensnog

1971 Xenocalamus sabiensis Broadley
Amblyodipsas sabiensis Figueroa, KcKelvy, Grismer, Bell & Lailvaux 2016

Distribution: Mozambique, South Africa (Limpopo), Zimbabwe.


Amblyodipsas teitana

Taita Hills Purple-glossed Snake

Taita-Purpurglanznatter

Taita-purpurglanssnog

1971 Amblyodipsas teitana Broadley

Distribution: Kenya.


Amblyodipsas transvaalensis

Transvaal Quill-snouted Snake, Speckled Quill-snouted Snake

Gesprenkelte Federschnauzennatter

Spættet Pensnog

1919 Xenocalamus transvaalensis Methuen
Amblyodipsas transvaalensis Figueroa, KcKelvy, Grismer, Bell & Lailvaux 2016

Distribution: Mozambique (incl. Bazaruto Archipelago), South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo).


Amblyodipsas unicolor

Equatorial Purple-glossed Snake, Western Purple-glossed Snake, Seventeen-scaled Purple-glossed Snake, Dull Purple-glossed Snake, False Burrowing Viper

Westliche Purpurglanznatter

Vestlig Purpurglanssnog

1843 Calamaria unicolor Reinhardt
Calamelaps unicolor Boulenger 1896
Amblyodipsas unicolor Broadley 1971
1906 Calamelaps feae Boulenger (Broadley 1971)
1923 Calamelaps niangarae Schmidt (Broadley 1971)

Distribution: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Kinshasa, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda.


Amblyodipsas ventrimaculata

Kalahari Purple-glossed Snake, Spotted Purple-glossed Snake

Kalahari-Purpurglanznatter

Kalahari-purpurglanssnog

1907 Rhinocalamus ventrimaculatus Roux
Calamelaps ventrimaculatus Witte & Laurent 1947
Amblyodipsas ventrimaculata Broadley 1971
1921 Calamelaps pellegrini Angel (Broadley 1983)
1958 Calamelaps ventrimaculatus websteri Fitzsimons & Brain (Broadley 1983)

Distribution: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.