Generic affinities of African house snakes revised: a new genus for Lamprophis inornatus (Serpentes: Lamprophiidae: Lamprophiinae: Boaedontini)

This article is the second part of a revision of the systematics of Boaedontini Dowling, 1969 and a follow-up to the work by Tiutenko et al. (2022). As a result of morphological and phylogenetic analyses, further taxonomic actions are taken in the genus Lycodonomorphus Fitzinger, 1843. Lamprophis inornatus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854, a species initially described in the genus Lamprophis and subsequently assigned to Lycodonomorphus, is here transferred to a new monotypic genus on a basis of combined criteria including genetic distance, morphology, ecology and biogeogra­phy. For improved taxonomic stability of the species and the new genus, a neotype for L. inornatus is designated from the specimen ZFMK 032712. The lectotype of Boodon infernalis Günther, 1858 is designated from one of three extant syn­types NHMUK 1858.4.11.5 and the type locality of this species, that is currently treated as a junior synonym of L. inornatus, is restricted to Durban, South Africa. The name ‘infernalis’ should be available if the species status of this northern clade would become restored. Lycodonomorphus subtaeniatus Laurent, 1954, another former Lycodonomorphus species long as­sumed to be a member of Boaedon, is here formally assigned to this genus and tentatively placed next to Boaedon upembae (Laurent, 1954) and Boaedon virgatus (Hallowell, 1854) on a basis of pholidosis, cranial morphology and dentition. The tribe Boaedontini now contains nine genera that can be separated by morphological characters according to the proposed key. The genus Lycodonomorphus still requires attention of taxonomists, as it contains species, such as L. bicolor, L. laevissimus, L. leleupi, L. mlanjensis, L. obscuriventris, and L. whytii, with uncertain taxonomic position and in this sense has to be viewed as sensu lato.