Atractaspis

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Atractaspis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Atractaspididae
Genus: Atractaspis
A. Smith, 1849
Common names: burrowing vipers, burrowing asps, mole vipers,[1] more.

Atractaspis is a genus of venomous snakes found in Africa. Currently, 15 species are recognized.[2]

Contents

[edit] Common names

Burrowing vipers, burrowing asps, mole vipers, stiletto snakes, side-stabbing snakes.[1]

[edit] Geographic range

Found mostly in subsaharan Africa, with a limited distribution in Israel and the Arabian Peninsula.[1]

[edit] Species

Species[2] Authority[2] Subsp.*[2] Common name[1] Geographic range[1]
A. aterrima Günther, 1863 0 Slender burrowing asp Africa from Senegal and the Gambia east to DR Congo and Uganda.
A. battersbyi Witte, 1959 0 Battersby's burrowing asp Africa: Bolobo, on the Congo River basin, DR Congo.
A. bibronii A. Smith, 1849 0 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 5 Central African burrowing asp Africa: the forests of the western Congo River basin.
A. coalescens Perret, 1960 0 Black burrowing asp Africa: Bangwa in southwestern Cameroon.
A. congica Peters, 1877 2 Congo burrowing asp Africa: from the mouth of the Congo River south to Angola, southeastern DR Congo and northern Zambia.
A. corpulenta (Hallowell, 1954) 2 Fat burrowing asp Africa: from Liberia to Ghana and from Nigeria eastwards to northeastern DR Congo.
A. dahomeyensis Bocage, 1887 0 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 0 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 Lonnberg & Andersson, 1913 0 Engdahl's burrowing asp Africa: southern Somalia and the lower Juba Valley northwest into northeastern Kenya.
A. irregularis (Reinhardt, 1843) 4 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 0 Ogaden burrowing asp Africa: eastern Ethiopia, northwestern Somalia and Djibouti.
A. microlepidota Günther, 1866 1 Small-scaled burring 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 2 Reticulate burrowing asp Central Africa: from southern Cameroon, east to eastern DR Congo and south to Angola.
A. scorteccii Parker, 1949 0 Somali burrowing asp Africa: eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia.

*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
  2. ^ a b c d Atractaspis (TSN 209551). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 29 August 2007.

[edit] External links