Rationale
(Changed due to Same category and criteria)
Widespread but rarely encountered throughout its range. It is considered Least Concern owing to its large distribution, much of which is not heavily impacted by habitat loss.
Distribution
Endemic to southern Africa, occurring mainly in the northern and eastern parts, from central Namibia in the west, through Botswana, the southern extremes of Zimbabwe, northern and eastern South Africa, Eswatini (Swaziland) and southern Mozambique (Broadley 1971, Branch 1998). Elapsoidea sundevallii sundevallii is restricted to western Swaziland, southeastern Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, possibly entering the northeastern parts of the Eastern Cape. Elapsoidea s. decosteri occurs in northeastern KwaZulu-Natal, eastern Eswatini (Swaziland) and the southern tip of Mozambique. Elapsoidea s. longicauda occurs in northern Limpopo and the southern parts of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Elapsoidea s. media occurs in southern Limpopo, northern and western Mpumalanga, Gauteng, eastern North-West Province, Free State and eastern parts of the Northern Cape. Surveys in the Prieska/Britstown region substantially extended its range to the southwest. Elapsoidea s. fitzsimonsi occurs in Namibia and Botswana and only just enters South Africa in the Mier Kalahari of the Northern Cape (Bates et al. 2014).
No quantitative information currently available, but estimated to be stable.
Threats
Destruction of termitaria in grasslands that are under cultivation may pose a threat, especially to E. s. media, but this is likely a minor threat to the species.
Uses and trade
This species is not known to be traded or utilized.
[@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}
}
,@article{5336,
author = {De Waal, S.W.P.},
journal = {Memoirs of the National Museum of Bloemfontein},
pages = {1--160},
title = {The Squamata (Reptilia) of the Orange Free State, South Africa},
volume = {11},
year = {1978}
}
,@article{13265814,
author = {Broadley, D.G.},
journal = {Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia, Series B, Natural Sciences},
pages = {577--626},
title = {A revision of the African snake genus <i>Elapsoidea</i> Bocage (Elapidae)},
volume = {4},
year = {1971}
}
,]
