Atractaspis
| Atractaspis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Atractaspis engaddensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Atractaspididae |
| Genus: | Atractaspis A. Smith, 1849 |
Atractaspis is a genus of venomous snakes found in Africa. Currently, 15 species are recognized by ITIS.[2] Others recognize 19 species.[3][4][5] 16 are listed here.
Common names
Burrowing vipers, burrowing asps, mole vipers, stiletto snakes, side-stabbing snakes.[1]
Geographic range
Found mostly in subsaharan Africa, with a limited distribution in Jordan vally in Palestine and the Arabian Peninsula.[1]
Description
Venom fangs enormously developed; a few teeth on the palatines, none on the pterygoids; mandibles edentulous anteriorly, with 2 or 3 very small teeth in the middle of the dentary bone. Postfrontal bone absent. Head small, not distinct from neck, covered with large symmetrical shields; nostril between 2 nasals; no loreal; eye minute, with round pupil. Body cylindrical; dorsal scales smooth, without apical pits, in 17 to 37 rows; ventrals rounded. Tail short; subcaudals either single or in two rows.[6]
Species
| Species[2] | Taxon author[2] | Subspecies.*[2] | Common name[1] | Geographic range[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. aterrima | Günther, 1863 | ———— | slender burrowing asp | Africa from Senegal and the Gambia east to DR Congo and Uganda. |
| A. battersbyi | de Witte, 1959 | ———— | Battersby's burrowing asp | Africa: Bolobo, on the Congo River basin, DR Congo. |
| A. bibronii | A. Smith, 1849 | ———— | Bibron's burrowing asp | Southern Africa, from central Namibia, east to northern South Africa, north to southeastern DR Congo, eastern Tanzania, coastal Kenya, and extreme southern coastal Somalia. |
| A. boulengeri | Mocquard, 1897 | matschiensis mixta schmidti schultzei vanderborghti |
Central African burrowing asp | Africa: the forests of the western Congo River basin. |
| A. coalescens | Perret, 1960 | ———— | black burrowing asp | Africa: Bangwa in southwestern Cameroon. |
| A. congica | W. Peters, 1877 | leleupi orientalis |
Congo burrowing asp | Africa: from the mouth of the Congo River south to Angola, southeastern DR Congo and northern Zambia. |
| A. corpulenta | (Hallowell, 1854) | kivuensis leucura |
fat burrowing asp | Africa: from Liberia to Ghana and from Nigeria eastwards to northeastern DR Congo. |
| A. dahomeyensis | Bocage, 1887 | ———— | Dahomey burrowing asp | Africa: from southwestern Cameroon, north and west through Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, northwestern Ivory Coast, southwestern Burkina Faso and south-central Mali. |
| A. duerdeni | Gough, 1907 | ———— | Duerden's burrowing asp | Africa in two isolated populations: one in north-central Namibia and one in southeastern Botswana and northern South Africa. |
| A. engdahli | Lönnberg & Andersson, 1913 | ———— | Engdahl's burrowing asp | Africa: southern Somalia and the lower Juba Valley northwest into northeastern Kenya. |
| A. engaddensis | Haas, 1950 | ———— | En-Gedi asp | Israel: Judean Desert. |
| A. irregularis | (J.T. Reinhardt, 1843) | angeli bipostocularis conradsi parkeri uelensis |
variable burrowing asp | Africa: from Liberia to Ghana, from Nigeria east to Uganda, southern Sudan, and western and central Kenya, and south to northeastern Tanzania, DR Congo and northwestern Angola. |
| A. leucomelas | Boulenger, 1895 | ———— | Ogaden burrowing asp | Africa: eastern Ethiopia, northwestern Somalia and Djibouti. |
| A. microlepidota | Günther, 1866 | andersonii magrettii |
small-scaled burrowing asp | Africa: east from Senegal and Mauritania to Chad, southern and northeastern Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Also in the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. |
| A. reticulata | Sjöstedt, 1896 | brieni heterochilus |
reticulate burrowing asp | Central Africa: from southern Cameroon, east to eastern DR Congo and south to Angola. |
| A. scorteccii | Parker, 1949 | ———— | Somali burrowing asp | Africa: eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia. |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa: Natural History, Species Directory, Venoms and Snakebite. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
- 1 2 3 4 "Atractaspis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- ↑ "Atractaspis ". Dahms Tierleben. www.dahmstierleben.de/systematik/Reptilien/Squamata/Serpentes/colubroidea/lamprophiidae/Atractaspidinae.
- ↑ http://www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ Wikispecies.
- ↑ Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Genus Atractaspis, pp. 510-511, Figure 36).
Further reading
- Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Atractaspis, pp. 61-62).
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External links
- Atractaspis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 29 August 2007.
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