Prosymna

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Elapoidea

Familia: Prosymnidae
Genus: Prosymna
Species (16): P. ambigua – P. angolensis – P. bivittata – P. frontalis – P. greigerti – P. janii – P. lineata – P. meleagris – P. ornatissima – P. pitmani – P. ruspolii – P. semifasciata – P. somalica – P. stuhlmanni – P. sundevalli – P. visseri
Name

Prosymna Gray, 1849: 40

Type species: Calamaria meleagris Reinhardt, 1843, by monotypy.

References
Primary references

Gray, J.E. 1849. Catalogue of the specimens of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Edward Newman: London. i–xv + 1–125. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Broadley, D.G. 1980. A revision of the African snake genus Prosymna Gray (Colubridae). Occasional papers of the National Museums and Monuments. Series B, Natural sciences 6(7): 481–556. Reference page.
Chirio, L., Ineich, I., Schmitz, A. & Trape, J.-F. 2011. Note sur la systématique des espèces du genre Prosymna Gray, 1849 en Afrique au Nord de l'Equateur (Serpentes, Prosymnidae). Revue suisse de zoologie 118(1): 157–173. BHL Reference page.
Heinicke, M.P., Titus-McQuillan, J.E., Daza, J.D., Kull, E.M., Stanley, E.L. & Bauer, A.M. 2020. Phylogeny and evolution of unique skull morphologies in dietary specialist African shovel-snouted snakes (Lamprophiidae: Prosymna). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 131(1): 136–153. DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa076 Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Prosymna . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 11 September 2020.

Vernacular names
English: African Shovel-snouted Snakes

Prosymna is a genus of snakes of the family Lamprophiidae.[1] It is the only genus in the subfamily Prosymninae.

Geographic range

The genus Prosymna is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.[1]
Species

Prosymna ambigua Bocage, 1873
Prosymna angolensis Boulenger, 1915
Prosymna bivittata F. Werner, 1903
Prosymna frontalis (W. Peters, 1867)
Prosymna greigerti Mocquard, 1906
Prosymna janii Bianconi, 1862
Prosymna lineata (W. Peters, 1871)
Prosymna meleagris (J.T. Reinhardt, 1843)
Prosymna ornatissima Barbour & Loveridge, 1928
Prosymna pitmani Battersby, 1951
Prosymna ruspolii (Boulenger, 1896)
Prosymna semifasciata Broadley, 1995
Prosymna somalica Parker, 1930
Prosymna stuhlmanni (Pfeffer, 1893)
Prosymna sundevalli (A. Smith, 1849)
Prosymna visseri V. FitzSimons, 1959

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Prosymna.
References

Genus Prosymna at The Reptile Database.

Further reading

Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Genus Prosymna, pp. 246–247).
Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Prosymna, p. 83).
Gray JE (1849). Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, Printer). xv + 125 pp. (Prosymna, new genus, p. 80).