Red List of South African Species

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

Rationale (Changed due to Same category and criteria)

Widespread and common, with no known substantial threats.

Distribution

Found from southwestern Namibia southwards through the western parts of South Africa (Broadley and Baldwin 2006). In South Africa it is widespread in the Northern and Western Cape provinces, the western half of the Eastern Cape, and the southern Free State. It reaches its southeastern limits in Port Elizabeth (Bates et al. 2014).

Population trend

Trend

There is no information available but assumed to be stable.

Threats

Collection for the pet trade is a known threat but is probably of limited extent.

Uses and trade

This subspecies is widely available in the pet trade due to its bright coloration. Illegal export of wild-caught specimens is thought to be common (Broadley and Baldwin 2006). 

Conservation

None recommended.

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. Second Edition},
 year = {1998}
}
,@book{2817,
 address = {Cape Town},
 author = {Marais, J.},
 publisher = {Struik},
 title = {A Complete Guide to the Snakes of Southern Africa},
 year = {2004}
}
,@article{110167993,
 author = {Broadley, D.G. and Baldwin, A.S.},
 journal = {Herpetological Natural History},
 number = {2},
 pages = {163--176},
 title = {Taxonomy, natural history, and zoogeography of the southern African Shield Cobras, Genus <i>Aspidelaps</i> (Serpentes: Elapidae)},
 volume = {9},
 year = {2006}
}
,]
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