Coluber florulentusGeoffroy 1827, C.smithi(Boulenger 1895), andC. tayloriParker 1949 (Reptilia Serpentes) are valid species. The widerangingC. florulentusis polytypic, includingC. f. perretin. ssp. from N Cameroon and E Nigeria. In N Kenya,C. smithiis sympatric withC. f. keniensisParker 1932. Because the systematic status of other East African species remains unclear, the phylogenetic relationships ofC. florulentusare not yet fully understood. The distribution of supposedly synapomorphic character states within Palaearctic species groups (s. l.) are discussed.