Slender Green Snake

Philothamnus heterolepidotus Gunther 1863

Philothamnus heterolepidotus Günther, 1863 Specimen. Angola: “Angola” [= Duque de Bragança]: BMNH 1882.6.9.3 . Comments. In preparation for a work on the Philothamnus in the Lisbon Museum, Bocage presented several specimens of this genus to the British Museum (NHMA /DF/ZOO/200/21/42). Although the only Philothamnus heterolepidotus mentioned in the letter was a specimen to be returned to the British Museum that Bocage had requested for examination, a specimen from “ Angola ” was accessioned with the remaining Philothamnus presented in this shipment. The specific locality Duque de Bragança can be inferred from the original specimen label that states the date and name of the collector – 1864, Bayão –, as recorded by Bocage (1882 a). This specimen was cited by Boulenger (1894 b) as Chlorophis heterolepidotus .

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