NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black Garter Snake
Elapsoidea nigra Günther, 1888
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Elapsoidea nigra, also known commonly as the black garter snake or Usambara garter snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. It is found in northeastern Tanzania and southeastern Kenya. It is a terrestrial and fossorial snake that inhabits moist evergreen forest at elevations of 300–1,900 m (980–6,230 ft) above sea level.
In 2009 the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species initially rated the species as endangered. In 2014, its status was updated to "least concern".
Wikipedia contributors, Elapsoidea nigra; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:13:42.982047+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Elapsoidea nigra Günther, 1888
- Name authority
- Günther, 1888
- Common name
- Black Garter Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Elapsoidea
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyElapidae
- genusElapsoidea
- speciesElapsoidea nigra Günther, 1888
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Elapsoidea. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Boulenger's Garter SnakeElapsoidea boulengeri Boettger, 1895 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Elapsoidea broadleyi Jakobsen, 1997 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Günther’s Garter SnakeElapsoidea guentherii Bocage, 1866 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Angolan Garter SnakeElapsoidea semiannulata Bocage, 1882 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Elapsoidea sundevallii Smith, 1848 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Somali Garter SnakeElapsoidea chelazziorum Lanza, 1979 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Werner's Garter SnakeElapsoidea laticincta (Werner, 1919) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| East African Garter SnakeElapsoidea loveridgei Parker, 1949 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Elapsoidea trapei Mané, 1999 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Elapsoidea&species=nigra Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:394K3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.