How does the existence of a snake called the Common Wolf Snake in Africa highlight taxonomic nuances?

It shows common names can be deceptively shared across continents for visually similar species

The mention of a snake in Africa also being referred to as the Common Wolf Snake demonstrates a significant taxonomic challenge: the deceptive sharing of descriptive common names across continents, even for species that may ultimately be placed outside the *Lycodon* genus or represent unrelated colubrids. This geographical difference underscores the danger of relying solely on the common name when observing snakes outside the primary South and Southeast Asian stronghold of the *Lycodon* genus. Cross-referencing is necessary because loose application of names or lag in taxonomic revisions can lead to misidentification when the strict binomial nomenclature is not used.