Olive marsh snake

Natriciteres olivacea
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Natriciteres
Species:	N. olivacea
Binomial name
	Natriciteres olivacea; (W. Peters, 1854)
Synonyms[2]
	Coronella olivacea ; W. Peters, 1854; Zacholus olivaceus ; — Rochebrune, 1884; Tropidonotus olivaceus ; — Boulenger, 1893; Mizodon olivaceus ; — Bocage, 1895; Natrix olivaceus ; — Schmidt, 1923; Neusterophis olivaceus ; — Loveridge, 1951; Natriciteres olivacea ; — Loveridge, 1953;

The olive marsh snake (Natriciteres olivacea) is a species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Geographic range

N. olivacea is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, both Congos (Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo), Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[2]

Description

N. olivacea is a small snake which exhibits sexual dimorphism. Males may attain a maximum total length (including tail) of only 27 cm (11 in), but the larger females may attain a total length of 33 cm (13 in).[3]

It has smooth dorsal scales, which are arranged in 19 rows at midbody, reducing to 17 rows towards the rear.[3]

Dorsally, it is dark olive. Ventrally, it is whitish. The upper labials are whitish, with dark vertical bars at the sutures.[3]

Habitat

The preferred habitat of N. olivacea is savanna.[3]

Diet

N. olivacea preys on winged termites.[3]

Reproduction

N. olivacea is oviparous. In early summer the adult female lays a clutch of 6-8 eggs. Each egg measures 22 x 9 mm (.87 x .35 inch).[3]

References

Rödel M-O, Spawls S (2010). "Natriciteres olivacea ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2016.old-form url
Species Natriciteres olivacea at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Natriciteres olivacea, p. 81 + Plates 33 & 37).

Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Tropidonotus olivaceus, pp. 227-228).
Loveridge A (1953). "Zoological Results of a Fifth Expedition to East Africa. III. Reptiles from Nyasaland and Tete". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College, in Cambridge 110 (3): 141-322 + Plates 1–5. (Natriciteres olivacea, new combination, pp. 251-252).
Peters W (1854). "Diagnosen neuer Batrachier, welcher zusammen mit der früher (24. Juli und 17. August) gegebenen Übersicht der Schlangen und Eidechsen mitgetheilt werden ". Berichte über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1854: 614–628. (Coronella olivacea, new species, pp. 622-623). (in German and Latin).

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[IUCN-1] Rödel M-O, Spawls S (2010). "Natriciteres olivacea ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2016.old-form url

[RDB-2] Species Natriciteres olivacea at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.

[Bill-3] Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Natriciteres olivacea, p. 81 + Plates 33 & 37).