What is believed to be the only short snouted grass snake (Psamopphis brevirostris brevirostis) in the UK is up for sale in a pet shop. The snake was part of a larger collection, that was handed in by a member of the public, who had a collection that he could no longer care for. The Wisbech Standard - Only snake of its kind in Britain for sale in Wisbech - and could be worth thousands
"Stefan McNally, deputy floor manager of the Union Street shop, said: "We are intending to sell it but we have no idea how much the snake is worth. We could be sitting on a gold mine - it could be worth thousands of pounds." Wishful thinking on his part. I can't see big money being paid for a fairly unremarkable snake which is sometimes regarded as a subspecies of Psammophis sibilans (African Beauty Snake), which enters the hobbyist trade and is not particularly sought-after.
P. b. brevirostris is a junior synonym and as such hasn't been valid taxonomy for this snake in a good number of years, using incorrect taxonomy makes it easy to find animals that are apparently "one of a kind" It's P. sibilans, the leopard sand snake (or whichever unhelpful common name people prefer!) The short snouted snake is a plain green colouration apparently and this is very clearly not it. P. sibilans is not exactly what you would call common in trade but they are imported and available in modest numbers every spring here in the UK. They'd set you back about 40 pounds. So, I'm glad that piece of nonsense made the news!
Hi JerseyLotte. With reptile taxonomy, it often depends which 'authority' you consult. Writing in Copeia in 2006, Richard Shine & his co-authors recognised Psammophis brevirostris as a valid species. Others, including The TIGR Reptile Database, treat it as a subspecies of P. sibilans. Whatever view you take, though, the specimen in the pet shop is hardly anything that's likely to attract "thousands of pounds"!
Hi Mike, My point was that the actual snake in question is not a brevirostris of any kind, the snake is either P. sibilans or P. s. sibilans, depending on which authority you ask The Shine et al paper in 2006 is not a taxonomic paper nor a suggested revision, it is simply a use of a new name. It takes a lot more than that to persuade the community to accept a change of nomenclature. The most widely accepted current nomenclature for the two snakes is subspecific, as; Psammophis sibilans sibilans, Psammophis sibilans brevirostris. This is P. s. brevirostris;
A fair old taxonomic tussle,the animal shown [and thanks for that Lotte, a picture can be worth a thousand words]may well be sub-adult as ,apparently,the prominent longitudinal stripe fades with age.
