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Published by Struik Nature
(an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd)
Reg. No. 1953/000441/07
The Estuaries No. 4, Oxbow Crescent, Century Avenue, Century City, 7441
PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa
Visit www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za and join the Struik Nature Club for updates, news, events and special
offers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner(s).
ISBN 978 1 77584 737 3 (Print)
ISBN 978 1 77584 738 0 (ePub)
Front cover: Katanga Bush Viper (Frank Willems), Anchieta’s Chameleon (Darren Pietersen),
O’Shaughnessy’s Thick-toed Gecko (Gary Brown), Leopard Tortoise (Errol Pietersen)
Half-title page: Speckled Thick-toed Gecko (Luke Kemp)
Title page: Marbled Tree Snake (Luke Verburgt)
Contents page: Rhombic Egg-eater, Flap-necked Chameleon (Luke Verburgt)
Spine: Rhombic Egg-eater (Luke Verburgt)
Back cover: Olive Sand Snake, Nile Crocodile (Luke Verburgt)
DEDICATIONS
To my parents, Errol and Michèle, and my brother Ryan. Thank you for all your love and for always
supporting my ideas, no matter how crazy they were.
– Darren Pietersen
To Peter Snyman, who fuelled my passion for herpetofauna and shared his immense knowledge with me. And
to my mom, Janine, my wife, Ursula, and my best friend, Sam – none of this would have been possible
without you, and I am forever grateful for the love, support and opportunities you’ve given me.
– Luke Verburgt
To my parents, Peter and Ona, who inspired so much of my passion for nature; my sister Lynne, for putting up
with my obsessive birdwatching; and my partner, Lindy, for all her love, patience and support.
– John Davies
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A field guide of this nature would not have been possible without the assistance of numerous
individuals and organisations.
We gratefully acknowledge the following parties for sharing their data with us: Ditsong
National Museum of Natural History (South Africa), specifically Lauretta Mahlangu; Port
Elizabeth Museum, Bayworld (South Africa), specifically Werner Conradie; and the
Bulawayo Museum (Zimbabwe), specifically Shiela Broadley. The Biodiversity Institute,
specifically René Navarro and Les Underhill, are thanked for sharing the ReptileMAP data
with us. Werner Conradie, Johan Marais, Colin Tilbury, Norman Barrett, Gary Brown, Frank
Willems and Paul Lloyd are also thanked for sharing their personal data, and many
photographs, with us. Thanks to the many people who took the time to share their reptile
observations on ReptileMAP and other public citizen science platforms: you have greatly
contributed towards shaping the geographic distributions that we present in this field guide.
We are very grateful to the team at the Vegetationmap4Africa project
(vegetationmap4africa.org) for allowing us to use their vegetation map in the predictive
modelling of the species geographic distributions.
Gary Nicolau is thanked for drawing the excellent scale diagrams included throughout
this field guide.
For allowing us to use their photographs, we thank André Coetzer, André van Hecke, Bill
Branch, Carl Huchzermeyer, Caspian Johnson, Colin Tilbury, Derek Solomon, Errol
Pietersen, Fabio Pupin, Frank Willems, Gary Brown, Gary Nicolau, Harald Hinkel, Johan
Marais, Joseph Zulu, Laurent Chirio, Lesley Reynolds, Liam Baisley, Luis Ceriaco, Luke
Kemp, Matej Dolinay, Michele Menegon, Mike McLaren, Nick Evans, Norman Barrett, Paul
Lloyd, Ronald Auerbach, Stephen Spawls, Tomáš Mazuch, Tyrone Ping, Warren McCleland
and Werner Conradie. If we have missed anyone, we sincerely apologise – it was not
intentional.
Aaron Bauer, Bill Branch, Werner Conradie and Colin Tilbury are thanked for assisting
us in obtaining many obscure scientific publications.
We are extremely grateful to Pippa Parker, Heléne Booyens, Dominic Robson and the
entire team at Struik Nature for their help and guidance.
Finally, we thank our families, friends and partners for all their love, support and
understanding.
Contents
PREFACE
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
What are reptiles?
Taxonomy, classification and nomenclature
Habitat types in Zambia and Malawi
Biogeography
Venom types and snakebite treatment
Regional endemics
Reptile identification using scales
How to use this book
Lizards – Sauria
Geckos
Plated Lizards
Girdled Lizards
Legless Skinks
Old World Skinks
Pacific Skinks
Advanced Skinks
True Skinks
Worm Lizards
Old World Lizards or Lacertids
Monitors
Chameleons
Agamas
CHELONIANS – TESTUDINES
Side-necked Terrapins – Pleurodira
African Terrapins
CROCODYLIANS – CROCODYLIA
Crocodiles
Glossary
References
Photographic credits
Useful contacts
Index to scientific names
Index to common names
Preface
Zambia and Malawi are somewhat of a herpetological enigma, at least in the public sphere.
They are too far north to be included in southern African field guides, yet too far south for
East African field guides. As such, Zambia and Malawi have remained veritable
herpetological ‘black holes’. Until now, no detailed field guide that covers the entire region
has been published.
The idea behind this book originated during a trip to Zambia, when we became
increasingly frustrated at the difficulty of identifying reptiles without a suitable consolidated
resource. Once back home, we started digging, and realised that although there was a wealth
of information regarding the rich reptile diversity of Zambia and Malawi, it was scattered
across dozens – if not hundreds – of often obscure publications. Most casual nature
enthusiasts wouldn’t know where to start, and many of these publications are difficult to
obtain.
We decided to consolidate as much of the available information as we could. So began an
endeavour that was to last several years. We have done our utmost to ensure that the
information contained in these pages is as accurate and up to date as possible. It often
necessitated us to track down the original descriptions of species or reviews of genera, and to
update this information if anything additional has been published subsequently. Through the
field trips we undertook and the data and records we reviewed, several new discoveries were
made for both Zambia and Malawi. Some of these discoveries have already been
documented, while some newly discovered species remain to be formally described.
It is our hope that this field guide will enable people to identify the wealth of reptiles that
surround them in Zambia and Malawi, dispel the myths about all (or even most) snakes being
venomous, and generally instill a deeper appreciation for reptiles, which play important roles
in the ecosystem. We also hope that this book will stimulate further research into the reptiles
of Zambia and Malawi by professionals and amateurs alike, and consequently assist in the
conservation of these wonderful creatures.
Although we have made every effort to ensure that the information in this field guide is
error-free, any mistakes or oversights contained in these pages are our own. If you notice any
inaccuracies or have any questions, you are welcome to contact us.
Darren Pietersen
[email protected]
Luke Verburgt
[email protected]
John Davies
[email protected]
Foreword
In 1910, FW Fitzsimons wrote The Snakes of South Africa, the first guide of its kind. Some
three decades later, it was followed by Vivian F Fitzsimons’s comprehensive The Lizards of
South Africa. Other classics on African herpetology include Captain Charles RS Pitman’s A
Guide to the Snakes of Uganda (1938), Margaret Stewart’s Amphibians of Malawi (1967)
and RCH Sweeny’s Snakes of Nyasaland (1961).
Today, there are plenty of social media pages where snakes (and other reptiles, to a lesser
extent) feature daily. Much of what is posted is inaccurate, however, and websites circulate a
great deal of misinformation.
I was delighted to hear that Darren Pietersen, a well-known and respected South African
herpetologist, was working on a book on the reptiles of Zambia and Malawi with the help of
John Davies, who works with avifauna at the Endangered Wildlife Trust. Luke Verburgt,
another respected South African herpetologist, soon joined the team. It was an ambitious
project, as much of the information on the herpetofauna of Malawi and Zambia was scattered
across various scientific papers.
With their combined skills, and over many years, they have produced a comprehensive
book that will not just appeal to the layman wanting more information on the interesting
reptile diversity of Zambia and Malawi, but will also become the go-to reference for experts
in the field and required reading for those studying African herpetology.
The authors chose well when they teamed up with Struik Nature, one of the world’s
finest natural history publishers. The design and layout of the book is exceptional and makes
for easy reading, while the contents are well researched and accurate. Distribution maps are
vitally important in any field guide, and here the authors used their vast experience and
knowledge of reptile distribution in the region as well as a clear understanding of the diverse
habitats to produce maps that will be of great use to herpetologists.
The book covers 117 snake species, 108 lizard species, 13 terrapins and tortoises and two
crocodiles. It is lavishly illustrated with over 380 colour photographs. In an age of mediocrity
and misinformation, it is great to see a herpetological book of this calibre. It will fit in well
with other classics on African herpetology.
Johan Marais
African Snakebite Institute
Introduction
Zambia and Malawi are landlocked African countries in the southern hemisphere. Perhaps
their best-known geographical features are the Zambezi River (the longest east-flowing river
in Africa), which arises in Zambia, and Lake Malawi (Nyasa), an East African rift lake that
covers more than 20% of Malawi. The region’s tropical climate, diverse landscape features
(ranging from towering inselbergs to lake shores) and wide range of vegetation types are
among the primary driving forces behind a high reptile diversity. To date, 240 species have
been recorded in these two countries: 117 snakes, 108 lizards, 13 terrapins and tortoises, and
two crocodiles. New species are continually ‘discovered’ using genetic techniques, as
widespread species in fact often comprise various closely related and similar-looking species.
The Nile Crocodile is one of two crocodile species found in the region.
André van Hecke
Leopard Tortoise
The Leopard Tortoise, Common Tropical House Gecko and Southern African Python all belong to the same
phylum (Chordata) and class (Reptilia). They are known to the scientific community by the binomial names
Stigmochelys pardalis, Hemidactylus mabouia and Python natalensis.
Forests
Forests consist of tall, thick trees with interlocking crowns. They are usually rich in plant
species, but owing to geological and hydrological characteristics the species composition and
height of the forest can vary over short distances. Forests are broadly categorised into two
types: moist forests and dry forests. In the region, moist forests are most prevalent in the east
where the higher moisture content (from frequent rain and/or mist) sustains them. They
usually have a cool, moist and relatively dark interior and the mid- and lower storeys
(including climbers or lianas) may be poorly to well developed, depending on the forest type.
Moist forests are generally fire-sensitive and thus often occur in isolated patches in gullies,
along rivers or other landforms providing protection from fire. They are also generally
intolerant of frost. Of the moist forests, Afromontane rainforests 1 are restricted to
high-elevation, high-rainfall regions, particularly on mountain slopes and plateaus. Swamp
forests or mushitu’s 2 occur mainly at the headwaters of larger rivers and along smaller
streams in north-western Zambia, thinning out to riparian forest in the middle and lower
stretches of these rivers. Swamp forests are characterised by tall, dense evergreen trees, often
with a well-developed understorey. Many of the trees and shrubs may be seasonally or
permanently submerged in shallow water, resulting in a very marshy habitat. Riparian
forests 3 occur in isolated pockets along some of the larger rivers, usually not extending
far into the surrounding vegetation and often forming a relatively abrupt boundary with it.
Dry forests are restricted to the drier western regions. In the region, they are represented by
the Cryptosepalum dry forest (also known as mavunda) in north-western Zambia and
adjoining Angola. This forest is nearly impenetrable, and many interesting discoveries
undoubtedly await the intrepid explorer. In many areas, forests are heavily impacted on by
human activities, which include felling for timber, charcoal production and clearing land for
agriculture.
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