Boulengerina
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| Boulengerina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Boulengerina annulata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Subfamily: | Elapinae |
| Genus: | Naja |
| Subgenus: | (Boulengerina) Dollo, 1886 |
Boulengerina is a genus of elapid snakes known commonly as water cobras, so named because of their semi-aquatic nature. The genus was recognised to have two species, which are found in central and southern Africa. Some recent molecular studies have suggested that the genus Boulengerina should be synonymised with Naja, because the water cobras are closely related to some species of Naja [1]
Wallach, Wuster and Broadley, re-ranked Boulengerina as a subgenus within Naja comprising the two species already recognised as forming genus Boulengerina plus Naja melanoleuca (as Naja (Boulengerina) melanoleuca) and the species formerly known as Paranaja multifasciata (now Naja (Boulengerina) multifasciata).[2]
Species
- Ringed Water Cobra, Boulengerina annulata (Buchholz & Peters, 1876)
- Christy's Water Cobra, Boulengerina christyi (Boulenger, 1904) -
Geographic distribution
- B. annulata - Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Burundi, and Zambia.
- B. christyi - Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo.
See also
- False water cobra, Hydrodynastes gigas
References
- ↑ Nagy, Z.T., Vidal, N., Vences, M., Branch, W.R., Pauwels, O.S.G., Wink, M., Joger, U., 2005. Molecular systematics of African Colubroidea (Squamata: Serpentes). In: Huber, B.A., Sinclair, B.J., Lampe, K.-H. (Eds.), African Biodiversity: Molecules, Organisms, Ecosystems. Museum Koenig, Bonn, pp. 221–228.
- ↑ In praise of subgenera: taxonomic status of cobras of the genus Naja Laurenti (Serpentes: Elapidae) http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/f/zt02236p036.pdf
External links
- Genus Boulengerina at The Reptile Database
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