''Atractaspis aterrima'', commonly known as the slender burrowing asp or mole viper, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

in the family

Atractaspididae The Atractaspididae (atractaspidids) are a Family (biology), family of venomous snakes found in Africa and the Middle East, commonly called mole vipers, stiletto snakes, or burrowing asps. Currently, 12 genus, genera are recognized. Description ...

. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

, ''aterrima'', meaning "blackest", is the superlative form of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

adjective ''ater'', meaning "black".

Distribution

This snake is found in large parts of West, Central, and East Africa.Spawls, S. & Branch, B. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa.'' Dubai: Oriental Press, 1995. . The Reptile Database lists the following countries (from west to east): Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali (southern), Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso (southern), Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (northern), Uganda, and Tanzania. Its presence in Gabon, Rwanda, and Burundi is disputed.

Description

Adult snakes are usually black, blackish-grey, or occasionally, blackish brown; they can be very glossy, blackish blue. Juveniles are usually brown. The largest recorded male is and the largest female is in length. More formally, this snake can be diagnosed by the characteristics and counts of its

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

: the

rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: ...

is rounded; the

frontal scale Frontal scale refers to the scale of a reptile which lies on the top of the head in the region between the eyes. This is analogous to the frontal bone of a human which corresponds to the forehead. Snake scales adjacent to the frontal and to its ...

is almost as broad as long and shorter than the

parietal scales Parietal scales are the scales of a snake located on the snake's head and are connected to the frontals towards the posterior. These plate-like scales are analogous to and take their name from the parietal bone, which forms the roof and sides of ...

; there are five (rarely six) upper

labial scales The labial scales are the scales of snakes and other scaled reptiles that border the mouth opening. These do not include the median scales on the upper and lower jawsWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7 ...

and five (rarely four or sometimes six) lower labials; the anterior chin-shields not fused with second infralabial. There are 19–23 mid-body scale rows: Males have 239–288 and females 257–299 ventral scales. The

anal scale In snakes, the anal scale or anal plate is the scale just in front of and covering the cloacal opening. This scale can be either single ("anal entire") or paired ("anal divided"). When paired, the division is oblique.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G ...

is undivided. The caudal

scute A scute () or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "Scutum (shield), shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of Bird anatomy#Scales, birds. The ter ...

s are single and number 20–26 in males and 17–23 in females. The following formal description is from George Albert Boulenger's ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum'' (1896): Boulenger, G.A. 1896. ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume III''. London. pp. 515-516.

Snout rounded. Portion of rostral visible from above measuring one third to one half its distance from the frontal; suture between the internasals as long as or longer than that between the præfrontals; frontal as long as broad, longer than its distance from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals; one præ- and one postocular; a large temporal, wedged in between the fourth and fifth labials; five upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye, fourth largest; first lower labial in contact with its fellow behind the symphysial; three lower labials in contact with the chinshields, third extremely large. Scales in 19–21 rows. Ventrals 251–300; anal entire; subcaudals 18–24, single. Uniform dark brown or black. Total length 650 millim.; tail 30.

Habitat and ecology

''Atractaspis aterrima'' occurs in a wide range of habitats: coastal grasslands, dry and moist

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

s, and forests. It is

. Based on gut contents of a single snake, the prey include caecilian '' Scolecomorphus kirkii'' and lizards (an unidentified tail). The snake in question was in total length, whereas the caecilian was comparatively large at total length—an earlier study had indicated that ''A. aterrima'' eats smaller prey. However, this observation otherwise agrees with earlier ones for ''A. aterrima'' and other ''Atractaspis'' species, documenting that they eat elongated vertebrates (snakes, amphisbaenians, skinks, and geckos), some of these fossorial.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2714468 Atractaspididae Snakes of Africa Reptiles of West Africa Reptiles of Cameroon Reptiles of the Central African Republic Reptiles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Reptiles of Tanzania Reptiles of Uganda Reptiles described in 1863 Taxa named by Albert Günther