NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ornate Olympic Snake
Psammophis praeornatus (Schlegel, 1837)
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
Psammophis praeornatus, also known as the Ornate Olympic Snake, is a species of colubrid snake. It was formerly one of two species placed in genus Dromophis, which was found to be nested within Psammophis. It is found in several African countries, including Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
Wikipedia contributors, Psammophis praeornatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:57:11.043349+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Psammophis praeornatus (Schlegel, 1837)
- Name authority
- (Schlegel, 1837)
- Common name
- Ornate Olympic Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Psammophiidae
- Genus
- Psammophis
- 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
- familyPsammophiidae
- genusPsammophis
- speciesPsammophis praeornatus (Schlegel, 1837)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Psammophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Psammophis aegyptius Marx, 1958 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ansorge’s Sand SnakePsammophis ansorgii Boulenger, 1905 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Elegant Sand RacerPsammophis elegans (Shaw, 1802) | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Psammophis indochinensis Smith, 1943 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pakistan Sand RacerPsammophis leithii Günther, 1869 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Steppe Ribbon RacerPsammophis lineolatus (Brandt, 1838) | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Long Sand RacerPsammophis longifrons Boulenger, 1890 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Beautiful Sand snakePsammophis pulcher Boulenger, 1895 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Egyptian Hissing Sand SnakePsammophis sibilans (Linnaeus, 1758) | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Northern stripe-bellied sand snakePsammophis sudanensis Werner, 1919 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tanganyika Sand SnakePsammophis tanganicus Loveridge, 1940 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zambian Whip SnakePsammophis zambiensis Hughes & Wade, 2002 | PsammophiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Dendrophis praeornatus Schlegel, 1837 Schlegel, 1837 | synonym |
| Dromophis praeornatus var. gribinguiensis Angel, 1921 Angel, 1921 | synonym |
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=Psammophis&species=praeornatus 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:4NCY3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.