Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Graham Alexander
Contributors: Josh Weeber
Facilitators: Krystal Tolley
Reviewers: Michael Bates Juan-Jacques Forgus Krystal Tolley Luke Verburgt

Rationale (Changed due to Same category and criteria)

Widespread but occurring at naturally low densities (Jacobsen 1989). The species is considered Least Concern given its large distribution and records suggesting that it is extending its distribution southwards (Maritz and Alexander 2010). While some of the area is impacted by habitat transformation, most of the range is relatively intact and the species is considered well protected as it is found in ca.70 large Protected Areas.

Distribution

Occurs from Senegal eastwards to Somalia, then south into Eswatini (Swaziland) and South Africa, and west to Namibia and Angola (Jacobsen 1989), but absent from the equatorial forest of West and Central Africa (Broadley 1990). In South Africa it is restricted to the northern and eastern parts, from the northern parts of North-West Province to Limpopo Province, the northern and eastern parts of Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the northeastern parts of the Eastern Cape provinces. Haacke (1984) reported a visual sighting at Union's End in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the extreme northern part of the Northern Cape, and a recent record extends the species' range further south in this province (Bates et al. 2014).

Population trend

Trend

The population is considered to be stable.

Threats

There are no substantial threats to this species.

Uses and trade

This species is frequently sold in the muthi trade (Williams et al. 2016).

Conservation

Details of local abundance are needed (Jacobsen 1989) to assess spatial requirements for the conservation of sustainable populations.

References 

[@book{612,
 address = {Pretoria},
 author = {Bates, M.F., Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M., Burger, M., Marais, J., Alexander, G.J. and de Villiers, M.S.},
 publisher = {Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute},
 title = {Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland},
 year = {2014}
}
,@book{2817,
 address = {Cape Town},
 author = {Branch, W.R.},
 publisher = {Struik Publishers},
 title = {Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Edition},
 year = {1998}
}
,@techreport{5336,
 address = {Pretoria, South Africa},
 author = {Jacobsen, N.H.G.},
 institution = {Chief Directorate of Nature and Environmental Conservation},
 title = {The distribution and conservation status of reptiles and amphibians in the Transvaal. Final Report Project TN 6/4/1/30},
 year = {1989}
}
,@book{10242,
 address = {Parklands, South Africa},
 author = {Broadley, D.G.},
 publisher = {Jonathan Ball and Ad. Donker Publishers},
 title = {FitzSimons' Snakes of Southern Africa},
 year = {1990}
}
,@article{177584,
 author = {Haacke, W.D.},
 journal = {Koedoe},
 number = {1984},
 pages = {171--186},
 title = {The herpetology of the southern Kalahari domain.},
 year = {1984}
}
,@article{177584,
 author = {Maritz, B. and Alexander, G.J.},
 journal = {African Herp News },
 pages = {27--28},
 title = {Geographic distributions: <i>Dendroaspis polylepis polylepis</i> (Gunther, 1864)},
 volume = {51},
 year = {2010}
}
,@article{177584,
 author = {Williams, V.L., Moshoeu, T.J. and Alexander, G.J.  },
 journal = {South African Journal of Science },
 title = {Reptiles sold as traditional medicine in Xipamanine Market, Maputo, Mozambique.},
 volume = {112},
 year = {2016}
}
,]
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