Atractaspis duerdeni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Atractaspididae
Genus: Atractaspis
Species:
A. duerdeni
Binomial name
Atractaspis duerdeni
Gough, 1907

Atractaspis duerdeni, commonly known as the beaked burrowing asp,[2] Duerden's burrowing asp,[3] and Duerden's stiletto snake,[2] is a species of venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae.[4] The species is native to southern Africa.

Etymology

The specific epithet, duerdeni, is in honor of James Edwin Duerden (1865–1937) of the Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa.[5][6]

Geographic range

A. duerdeni is found in southeastern Botswana, Namibia, and northern South Africa.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of A. duerdeni is savanna, at altitudes of 850–1,600 m (2,790–5,250 ft).[1]

Description

In his original description Gough described A. duerdeni as being cream-colored above and below, referring to a faded specimen stored in alcohol.[5] In life A. duerdeni is uniformly blackish-brown or gray dorsally, and it is white or creamish-pink ventrally.[3] The dorsal scales are in 21 rows at midbody. The ventrals number 199; the anal is entire; and the subcaudals number 22, all except the first entire. The snout is prominent and subcuneiform. The rostral has a rounded horizontal edge, and the portion visible from above is a little longer than its distance from the frontal.[5] Females may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 51 cm (20 in), and males, which are smaller, may attain 44 cm (17 in) SVL.[3]

Behavior

A. duerdeni is fossorial.[1]

Diet

A. duerdeni preys upon sleeping lizards and snakes.[3]

Reproduction

A. duerdeni is oviparous.[2]

Venom

A venomous species, A. duerdeni can inflict a serious bite requiring medical attention, but no human fatality has been recorded.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Alexander GJ, Tolley KA (2021). "Atractaspis duerdeni ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T20878118A139702420.en. Accessed on 24 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Species Atractaspis duerdeni at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Branch, Bill (2004).
  4. ↑ "Atractaspis ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 Gough LH (1907). "Description of a new species of Atractaspis collected at Serowe, North Eastern Kalahari". Records of the Albany Museum 2: 178-179. (Atractaspis duerdeni, new species).
  6. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Atractaspis duerdeni, p. 76).

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. (Atractaspis duerdeni, p. 63 + Plate 38).
  • Broadley, Donald G.; Blaylock, Roger (2013). The Snakes of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira / Serpents Tale. 387 pp. ISBN 978-3899734690.
  • Herrmann, Hans-Werner; Branch, Bill (2013). "Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist". Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115.
  • Schleicher, Alfred (2020). Reptiles of Namibia. Windhoek, Namibia: Kuiseb Publishers. 271 pp. ISBN 978-9994576708.



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