A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Homoroselaps dorsalis
About 5 mm thin and 14 cm long. This is a rare find in Swaziland, and it has not been reported from this part of the country before.
Rocky area close to a stream of water. (Python pool, Mlawula nature reserve)
This species is endemic to South Africa and Swaziland.
It's actually a member of the Atractaspididae family and is venomous, but it is too small to inflict any damage.
Thank you for the information Kate! Great to be able to contribute to some new information about this species to the SNTC database and for PN members as well!
Excellent spotting! Yes, it is endemic to Swaziland and South Africa, and my out of date info has it only collected in the highveld in Swaziland, so this broadens the range within the country.
It is most likely harmless - it is a member of the Colubridae family, which are back-fanged, and apart from the boomslang and vine snake, the ones in this region are generally harmless.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colubridae
Thank you Tom :) I am trying to figure out if it is venomous or not, but so far no luck. Don't think so though.
Jakob, thank you for a fast and accurate ID. Well done since it seems to be quite rare, and only located in Swaziland and South Africa.
Spotted on Mar 29, 2014
Submitted on Mar 30, 2014
+1
