Widespread and common with no substantial threats.
Distribution
Widespread throughout most of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini (Swaziland), but with a patchy distribution in parts of the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa. Its range extends to South Sudan in the north and to at least the Republic of the Congo in the west (Gans 1959, Branch 1998, Trape and Manè 2006, Trape et al. 2012, Bates et al. 2014, Bates and Broadley 2018).
There is no known utilization apart from low level use for the pet trade.
Conservation
The taxonomy of this species in southern Africa needs to be investigated, and the presence of cryptic taxa has been suggested (Bates et al. 2011, 2012).
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address = {Pretoria, South Africa},
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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}
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author = { Bates, M.F. and Broadley, D.G. },
journal = {Indago},
number = {1},
pages = {1--95},
title = {A revision of the egg-eating snakes of the genus <i>Dasypeltis</i> Wagler (Squamata: Colubridae: Colubrinae) in north-eastern Africa and south-western Arabia, with descriptions of three new species},
volume = {34},
year = {2018}
}
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author = {Gans, C.},
journal = {Annales du Musée Royal du Congo Belge Tervuren},
pages = {237 pp.},
title = {A taxonomic revision of the African snake genus <i>Dasypeltis</i> (Reptilia: Serpentes)},
volume = {74},
year = {1959}
}
,@article{131300703,
author = {Trape, J. and Mané, Y.},
journal = {Bulletin of the Society of Herpetology of France},
pages = {27--56},
title = {Le genre <i>Dasypeltis</i> Wagler (Serpentes: Colubridae) en Afrique de l'Ouest: description de trois especes et d'une sous-espece nouvelles},
volume = {119},
year = {2006}
}
,@article{131300703,
author = {Trape, S., Mediannikov, O. and Trape, J.-F.},
journal = {Comptes Rendus Biologies},
number = {7},
pages = {488--501},
title = {When colour patterns reflect phylogeography: New species of <i>Dasypeltis</i> (Serpentes: Colubridae: Boigini) from West Africa},
volume = {335},
year = {2012}
}
,@proceedings{131300703,
address = {Cape Town, South Africa},
editor = {Bates, M.F., Barlow, A., Wüster, W., Tolley, K.A. and Broadley, D.G.},
series = {Proceedings of the 10th conference of the Herpetological Association of Africa},
title = {A taxonomic revision of the genus <i>Dasypeltis</i> in the western half of southern Africa.},
year = {2011}
}
,@article{131300703,
author = {Bates, M.F., Broadley, D.G., Barlow, A., Wüster, W. and Tolley, K.A.},
journal = {African Herp News},
pages = {27--28},
title = {Taxonomy and distribution of the African egg-eating snakes of the genus <i>Dasypeltis</i>. },
volume = {58},
year = {2012}
}
,]
