Highveld Garter Snake

About the Highveld Garter Snake

Elapsoidea sundevallii, also known commonly as Sundevall's garter snake or the African garter snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Southern Africa. There are five recognised subspecies.

The specific epithet, sundevalli, honours Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall (1801–1875). The subspecific name, decosteri, is in honour of Belgian consul Juste De Coster, who collected natural history specimens at Delagoa Bay, Mozambique.

The subspecific name, fitzsimonsi, is in honour of South African herpetologist Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons. E. sundevallii is found in Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The preferred natural habitats of E. sundevallii are grassland, shrubland, savanna, and forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft).

Adults of E. sundevallii are slate-grey to black or dark brown on the upper body, with whitish to pinkish bellies. Juveniles are banded. Males grow to be longer than females. The maximum recorded snout-to-vent length (SVL) for a male is 93 cm (37 in). The maximum recorded SVL for a female is... Wikipedia →