Lamprophis
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''Lamprophis'' is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of medium-sized, non
venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
ous
snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
s commonly referred to as African house snakes, in the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Lamprophiidae The Lamprophiidae are a family of snakes found throughout much of Africa, including Seychelles. There are 89 species as of July 2022. Biology Lamprophiids are a diverse group of snakes. Many are terrestrial but some are fossorial (e.g. '' Ambly ...
.


Description

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of ''Lamprophis'' exhibit a wide variety of pattern variation, and may be spotted, striped, or solid in color. House snakes are
sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
, the females grow significantly larger, to about in some species, and some specimens have been recorded over , the males only grow to around . Albino variants of '' Lamprophis aurora'' have been found.


Species

As of 2022, 3 species in the genus ''Lamprophis'' are recognized: *'' Lamprophis aurora'' – aurora house snake *'' Lamprophis fiskii'' – Fisk's house snake, vulnerable (VU) *'' Lamprophis fuscus'' – yellow-bellied house snake, near threatened (LR/nt) ''
Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...
'': A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Lamprophis''. The species formerly known as ''Lamprophis capensis'', the brown house snake or Cape house snake, has been assigned to the genus ''
Boaedon ''Boaedon'' is a genus of snakes, commonly known as brown house snakes, in the family Lamprophiidae. The genus is native to Africa, and was originally described by French zoologists André Marie Constant Duméril, Gabriel Bibron, and Auguste Du ...
'', as ''
Boaedon capensis ''Boaedon capensis'', the Cape house snake, also known as the brown house snake, is a species of lamprophiid from Botswana, South Africa (from KwaZulu-Natal all the way through to the Western Cape), Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are a ...
''. The species formerly known as ''Lamprophis erlangeri'', the Ethiopian house snake, has been assigned to the genus ''Bofa'' as '' Bofa erlangeri''.


Geographic range

House snakes are found throughout all of
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
in a wide variety of habitats; some species are well adapted to living in burrows. They are named "house" snakes as they are frequently found around human dwellings, feeding on the rodents that congregate around human waste. They are extremely adaptable snakes, and are found in scrubland, woodland, savannah, and montane regions.


Behaviour and diet

Wild house snakes are often very nervous, but are not prone to biting. Their first defensive reaction is to flee. They are frequently found in and around human dwellings, where they consume rodents, small lizards, and even birds. House snakes are prolific breeders and lay clutches averaging eight to 12 eggs that hatch after around two months of incubation. Hatchlings are typically around 20 cm long.


In captivity

African house snakes are common in the exotic pet trade. The primary species available is ''B. capensis'', with the others being harder to acquire. They are easy to care for and breed readily. They can live up to 20 years with proper care. Males are smaller than females and seldom grow longer than . Females can attain lengths of , and specimens from the eastern region of southern Africa (
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
) are reported to reach lengths of or more. These snakes are nocturnal. The female lays one clutch of 9 to 16 eggs in early spring. They are known to store sperm and can lay up to six clutches per year in captivity, but it rarely happens in nature. Hatchlings are upon hatching.


Diet

Their main diet consists of rodents; in captivity, smaller snakes take pinkie mice, and in the wild they more commonly prey on
gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...
s until they are powerful enough to constrict mice. Large females are known to occasionally eat weanling rats. Adult snakes get fed weekly. Hatchlings may eat small lizards, such as
skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...
s and geckos, and newborn mice. In captivity, they can successfully be fed on gecko tails. Larger specimens are also known to take lizards, and in rare cases they will catch small bats. House snakes should be fed alone; their often violent feeding response may cause cannibalism.


References


External links


The African house snake page On Kingsnake.com

''Lamprophis'' website

African house snakes



''Lamprophis'' forums

House snake captive care guide

Informational ''Lamprophis'' website and forum


Further reading

* 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. (Genus ''Lamprophis'', p. 39, Figure 19). * 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. . (Genus ''Lamprophis'' 'sensu lato''">sensu_lato.html" ;"title="'sensu lato">'sensu lato'' pp. 73–74). *Leopold Fitzinger">Fitzinger L (1843). ''Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae.'' Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (''Lamprophis'', new genus, p. 25). (in Latin). *Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons, FitzSimons V (1966). "A check-list, with synoptic keys, to the snakes of Southern Africa". ''Annals of the Transvaal Museum'' 25 (3): 35-79. (Genus ''Lamprophis'', Key to the species, p. 45). {{Taxonbar, from=Q2132106 Lamprophiidae Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger Snake genera