Dwarf beaked snake

Dipsina multimaculata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Psammophiidae
Genus:	Dipsina; Jan, 1862
Species:	D. multimaculata
Binomial name
	Dipsina multimaculata; (A. Smith, 1847)
Synonyms
	Coronella multimaculata ; A. Smith, 1847; Rhamphiophis multimaculatus ; – Sternfeld, 1910; Dipsina multimaculata ; – Branch, 1987;

The dwarf beaked snake (Dipsina multimaculata), also called the western beaked snake, is a species of snake, which is endemic to southern Africa.^[3] It is in the monotypic genus Dipsina.

Geographic range

It is found in southwestern Botswana, Namibia, and western and central South Africa.^[4]

Description

Dipsina multimaculata is a small snake with a distinct, pointed snout. Adults may attain a total length of 40 cm (15.8 inches), including a 4.5-cm (1.8-in) tail.

It is pale buff or sandy gray dorsally, with three or five series of regular brown spots. The spots in the vertebral series are broader than long. A V-shaped brown mark is found on the back part of the head, with a diagonal brown streak from behind the eye towards the corner of the mouth. Ventrally, it is whitish.

The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows. Ventrals number 155–168 in females, the anal plate is divided, and the subcaudals are divided (paired) into 31–40 in females.^[5]

References

^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
^ The Reptile Database.
^ Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5 (Dipsina multimaculata, p. 87 & Plates 15, 17.)
^ Branch, 2004.
^ Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.-XXV. (Rhamphiophis multimaculatus, p. 148.)

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[1] The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

[2] The Reptile Database.

[3] Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5 (Dipsina multimaculata, p. 87 & Plates 15, 17.)

[4] Branch, 2004.

[5] Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.-XXV. (Rhamphiophis multimaculatus, p. 148.)

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