Spotted Bush Snake

Philothamnus semivariegatus (Smith 1840)

Philothamnus semivariegatus (Smith, 1840) * Specimens. Mozambique: “Moçambique”: BMNH 1882.6.9.7, Angola: Humbe: BMNH 1946.1.5.98 [syntype of Philothamnus smithii Bocage, 1882, originally BMNH 1882.6.9.6; Fig. 25] . Comments. In his revision of the genus, Bocage (1882 a) described Philothamnus smithii based on several specimens from Angola and Portuguese Guinea, including a specimen collected by Anchieta in 1876 at Humbe. A specimen from Humbe was presented to the British Museum in the same year under the name Philothamnus smithii (NHMA /DF/ZOO/200/21/42) and cited “ as one of the types ” by Boulenger (1984 b). In the same shipment, Bocage presented a specimen from Mozambique under the name Philothamnus punctatus (NHMA /DF/ZOO/200/21/42). Bocage (1882 a) noted specimens from Mozambique collected in 1868 by Canto and Valdez, and in 1869 by Cabral (dates of birth and death unknown), although without providing specific collecting localities. Specimen BMNH 1882.6.9.7 bears only the locality “ Moçambique ” and the year 1868, suggesting it was collected by Canto and Valdez. Both specimens presented to the British Museum in 1882 were cited by Boulenger (1894 b) as Philothamnus semiv

Echoes of a lost museum: Revision of the herpetological collections sent by Barbosa du Bocage from the Lisbon Museum to the British Museum of Natural History