Dwarf beaked snake

Dipsina multimaculata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Psammophiidae
Genus:	Dipsina; Jan, 1862
Species:	D. multimaculata
Binomial name
	Dipsina multimaculata; (A. Smith, 1847)
Synonyms
	Coronella multimaculata ; A. Smith, 1847; Rhamphiophis multimaculatus ; – Sternfeld, 1910; Dipsina multimaculata ; – Branch, 1987;

The dwarf beaked snake (Dipsina multimaculata), also called the western beaked snake, is a species of colubrid snake, which is endemic to southern Africa.^[3] It is in the monotypic genus Dipsina.

Geographic range

It is found in southwestern Botswana, Namibia, and western and central South Africa.^[4]

Description

Dipsina multimaculata is a small snake with a distinct, pointed snout. Adults may attain a total length of 40 cm (15.8 inches), including a 4.5-cm (1.8-in) tail.

It is pale buff or sandy gray dorsally, with three or five series of regular brown spots. The spots in the vertebral series are broader than long. A V-shaped brown mark is found on the back part of the head, with a diagonal brown streak from behind the eye towards the corner of the mouth. Ventrally, it is whitish.

The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows. Ventrals number 155-168 in females, the anal plate is divided, and the subcaudals are divided (paired) into 31-40 in females.^[5]

References

^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
^ The Reptile Database.
^ Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5 (Dipsina multimaculata, p. 87 & Plates 15, 17.)
^ Branch, 2004.
^ Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.-XXV. (Rhamphiophis multimaculatus, p. 148.)

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[1] The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

[2] The Reptile Database.

[3] Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5 (Dipsina multimaculata, p. 87 & Plates 15, 17.)

[4] Branch, 2004.

[5] Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ),... Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.-XXV. (Rhamphiophis multimaculatus, p. 148.)

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