The Cape cobra, also called the yellow cobra, is a moderate-sized, highly venomous species of cobra inhabiting a wide variety of biomes across southern Africa, including arid savanna, fynbos, bushveld, desert, and semidesert regions.
Lamprophis is a genus of medium-sized, nonvenomous snakes commonly referred to as African house snakes, in the family Lamprophiidae.
The berg adder is a venomous viper species endemic to mountainous regions in southern Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 849 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
The highveld gerbil is a species of rodent found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland, and temperate desert. This is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being of "least concern" as of 2008.
The marbled reed frog or painted reed frog is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae found in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Lesotho, Kenya and Tanzania. It occurs in a wide range of natural habitats, including forests, savannas, shrublands, grasslands, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, and intermittent freshwater lakes. It coexists well with humans, and is also found in pastureland, rural gardens, and urban areas. Its range appears to be expanding to the winter rainfall area of the Western Cape.
The brown-hooded kingfisher is a species of bird in the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It has a brown head and blackish and turquoise wings. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, living in woodland, scrubland, forest edges, and also suburban areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern.
The rinkhals, also known as the ringhals or ring-necked spitting cobra, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is found in parts of southern Africa. It is not a true cobra in that it does not belong to the genus Naja, but instead belongs to the monotypic genus Hemachatus. While rinkhals bear a great resemblance to true cobras they also possess some remarkable differences from these, resulting in their placement outside the genus Naja. In 2023, the Zimbabwe population was described as a new species, H. nyangensis.
Telescopus semiannulatus, commonly known as the common tiger snake, tiger cat snake, western tiger snake, or eastern tiger snake is a species of rear-fanged colubrid snake. It is widespread in central, eastern, and southern Africa.
Atractaspis duerdeni, commonly known as the beaked burrowing asp, Duerden's burrowing asp, and Duerden's stiletto snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae. The species is native to southern Africa.
Aparallactus capensis, or the Cape centipede-eater, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake in the Atractaspididae family.
Inyoka is a monotypic genus of southern African snakes. The word "inyoka" means "snake" in Zulu, Xhosa, Swahili, Shona and other African languages. These snakes were previously grouped in the genus Lamprophis but were found to be closer related to Hormonotus; a substantial genetic divergence between them and a 1900 km gap between their geographic ranges meant a new genus was erected for Lamprophis swazicus, the sole species of the new genus.
Boaedon capensis, the Cape house snake, also known as the brown house snake, is a species of lamprophiid from Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They are a non-venomous lamprophiid. This species was previously grouped in the genus Lamprophis but is regrouped with the genus Boaedon.
Trachylepis punctatissima, commonly called the montane speckled skink or speckled rock skink, is a lizard in the skink family (Scincidae) which is widespread in southern Africa. The common and adaptable species occurs in a variety of habitat types at middle to high altitudes. It was for a time treated as a southern race of the African striped skink, T. striata.
Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia, commonly known as the herald snake or the red-lipped snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The shield-nosed cobra, or eastern shield-nose snake, is a venomous snake of the family Elapidae.
Lycodonomorphus inornatus, commonly known as the olive house snake, the black house snake, and the olive ground snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Lamprophiidae. The species is endemic to southern Africa. It is a nocturnal snake with terrestrial habits.
Nucras lalandii, also known commonly as Delalande's sandveld lizard, Delalande's spotted lizard, and Laland's lizard, is a species of wall lizard in the family of true lizards (Lacertidae). The species is native to Southern Africa.
Bofa erlangeri, also known commonly as the Ethiopian house snake, is a species of snake in the family Lamprophiidae. The species is endemic to Ethiopia.
Elapsoidea sundevallii, also known commonly as Sundevall's garter snake or African garter snake, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Southern Africa. There are five recognised subspecies.
