Grayia ornata (Bocage, 1866)

Figure 8S

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Mayombe NP, Chimbete; –4.6631, 12.5447; 182 m a.s.l.; P3.145; GenBank: PQ455973 .

Identification. A large snake (max. SVL = 1190 mm) with dorsum brown or grey with numerous black transverse bands (Chaney et al. 2024). Material from Cabinda Province is almost identical (<0.5% 16S p -distance) to that of G. ornata sensu stricto (fide Chaney et al. 2024) from Ogooue, Gabon (GenBank: AY611866).

Biology and distribution. Grayia ornata is an aquatic snake widely distributed in Central Africa from Gabon to the westernmost region of the DRC and northern Angola (Chaney et al. 2024). The species is typically found in a variety of aquatic habitats (Chippaux and Jackson 2019). The specimen reported here was found at night in a deep pool at the edge of a slow-moving forest stream in Lower Mayombe.