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Link to photo

Please see the attached link to the photo. Was seen in Mozambique. I dont think its a BM or a Boomslang, but not 100%

Link edited by restio

With those big eyes, the shape of its head and its colour, I would go for female Boomslang.

Look at the scales. They appear smooth. Boomslang has keeled scales. There is also, what appears to be, dark skin visible between the scales on the body. Also look at the brightness in the eye. Boomslang eyes appear duller. Compared to the thickness of the leafs stems, one will also assume that a Boomslang should be thicker bodied. It has lighter coloured lips, a lighter belly and it is up in a tree, but association with a tree does not nescesary mean it is a tree living species. From the photograph my educated guess will be either Natal Green Snake, Philothamnus natalensis, or Olive Sand Snake Psammophis mossambicus. I'd like to hear what other forumites say. Agama

To me the colour and the shape of the head is just not right for a Natal Green Snake… the Natal Green Snake is bright green and has a flatter head.
The juvenile Boomslang has brighter eyes than the adult…so this then may be juvenile/sub-adult Boomslang.

Delboysafa, maybe you should PM Pilane….I’m sure he will be able to give you a collusive ID.

Not a Philothamnus natalensis....

Don't you mean Olive whip snake? or Olive grass snake

Why can't a boomslang have black interstitial skin?? It is actually very common with them... The dorsal scales on a young boomslang is not strongly keeled and it won't be that easy to tell from this photo if they are keeled or not...

But then again...young Boomslang body and head colour differs markedly from what one see on adults and on this photograph, (which if one save it and open it in Word for instance, can be blown up without loosing any quality). It then clearly shows smooth scales and that the head colour does not differ from what will be seen on Olive Grass Snake from Northern Zululand area. The dark spots on the scales can also be seen prominently and the scales are shiny instead of dull that one see on Boomslang. In my opinion Olive Grass Snake. (Pilane, Is it OK to refer to Mozambique Spitting Cobra as Mozzy, but unacceptable to publish the common names used by general public in different parts of the country?)

Agama sometimes I am a bit

Remember you Id'd it as a Natal green snake at first and it took you a while to eventually get to a Olive whip snake..

Yes this is an Olive whip snake

It has two common names and olive sand snake is not one of them...

Local names are Olive sand snake and Olive hissing snake and Hissing sand snake:wink:

@ Jumbo
A real difficult one to id...

Thanks for confirming. I learnt, again, to look at the big picture! What threw me off track was the fact that the snake was in a tree. Something I at first did not associate the Olive sand snake with.

Me too!!
Thanks Pliane and Agama

Can anyone ID this snake...it was hit by a car near Sunset Dam
Thanks !!

Olive Whip Snake ( Psammophis mossambicus)

I think I recored 17 dead Olive Whip snakes in Kruger, in the 10 days I spent there early this year! They extremely active during the day, and very fast, darting under cars before one would even know it.

Thank you Rusty.....what a terrible shame so many of these snakes get killed by cars.

Aidan

Pleasure aidan!! Being a reptile enthusiast , It really does bother me, the amount of snakes/tortoises/terrapins/cameleons and birds you find dead in the parks because of cars most probably speeding!

Though speeding may contribute, it quite often has nothing to do with it. I have seen people drive straight over a chameleon at approx. 30/40kmh. They were looking for big things and were simply not even aware that the chameleon was in the road. People tend to be oblivious and very un-observant.

Very true.........Another thing I've noticed, especially on my farm........Is that Snakes, lizards(Especially plated lizards and variagated skinks) and often Ground Agamas, when in the road, instead of running for the bush, run for the shade of the car...Something you can't prevent at any spend, and often you end of hitting one!