Rufous Beaked Snake

About the Rufous Beaked Snake

Rhamphiophis rostratus, commonly known as the rufous beaked snake, is a species of snake in the family Psammophiidae. It is a large diurnal species native to eastern Africa, ranging from Somalia and Ethiopia in the north to South Africa in the south. It is easily identified by its pointed snout and a dark stripe running through the eye.

Rhamphiophis rostratus was described in 1854 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters based on four syntype specimens collected by Peters from Mossuril and Tete in Mozambique between June 1843 and August 1847. It is the type species of the genus Rhamphiophis, which is placed within the family Psammophiidae. Some authors consider it a subspecies of Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus and refer to it by the trinomial name Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus rostratus, however, molecular phylogenetic evidence supports its status as a species, with a 2008 analysis finding that R. rostratus represented a sister taxon to R. rubropunctatus and R. oxyrhynchus.

Rhamphiophis rostratus is widespread in eastern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan in the north through Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi,... Wikipedia →