Published October 22, 2025 | Version v1

Philothamnus thomensis Bocage 1882

  • 1. BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485 - 661 Vairão, Portugal & CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485 - 661 Vairão, Portugal & Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021, 4169 - 007 Porto, Portugal
  • 2. Aquário Vasco da Gama, R. Direita do Dafundo, 1495 - 718 Cruz Quebrada, Portugal
  • 3. Section of Amphibians and Reptiles, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 - 4080, USA
  • 4. Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA
  • 5. BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485 - 661 Vairão, Portugal & CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485 - 661 Vairão, Portugal

Description

Philothamnus thomensis Bocage, 1882 *

Specimens.

S. Tomé and Príncipe: “ Isle de S. Thomé ”: BMNH 1946.1.21.60 [syntype, originally BMNH 1882.6.9.4; Fig. 26], BMNH 1893.12.27.17.

Comments.

Bocage (1882 a, 1882 b) described Philothamnus thomensis based on five specimens from S. Tomé Island. One specimen was presented to the British Museum in the same year (NHMA /DF/ZOO/200/21/42), and another in 1893. Boulenger (1894 b) cited the two specimens sent by Bocage, noting one to be “ one of the types ”. Hughes (1985) argued that BMNH 1946.1.21.60 corresponded to one of the adults mentioned by Bocage (1882 a, 1882 b) and “ it would be wise ” to designate it as lectotype. Although Wallach et al. (2014) regarded this statement as a lectotype designation, Hughes (1985) did not take explicit action complying with Article 74.5 of the Code, and therefore BMNH 1946.1.21.60 should retain the status of syntype rather than lectotype. This may be the only surviving type, although it remains unclear if additional specimens exist in other collections.

Notes

Published as part of Parrinha, Diogo, Calado, Francisco M. G., Marques, Mariana P., Bauer, Aaron M. & Ceríaco, Luis M. P., 2025, 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, pp. 353-404 in Vertebrate Zoology 75 on pages 353-404, DOI: 10.3897/vz.75.e169790

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Additional details

Biodiversity

References

  • Bocage JVB (1882 a) Notice sur les espèces du genre « Philothamnus » qui se trouvent au Muséum de Lisbonne. Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes, Série 1, 9: 1–19.
  • Bocage JVB (1882 b) Reptiles rares ou nouveaux d'Angola. Jornal de Sciencias Mathematicas, Physicas e Naturaes, Série 1, 8: 299–204.
  • Boulenger GA (1894 b) Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II. Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridae Aglyphae. British Museum, London, xi, 382 pp., 20 plates.
  • Hughes B (1985) Progress on a taxonomic revision of African green tree snakes (Philothamnus spp.). In: Schuchmann KL (Ed.) Proceedings of the International Symposium on African Vertebrates. Zoological Research Museum A. Koenig, Bonn, 511–530.
  • Wallach V, Williams KL, Boundy J (2014) Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1227 pp.