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

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

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 vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

in the family

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

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

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

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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 w ...

: 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 scales of a reptile which lie in the general region of the forehead of a snake, more specifically between the eyes and to the anterior of this area. These are analogous to the ''frontal bone'' on a human which correspo ...

is almost as broad as long and shorter than the

parietal scales Parietal scale refers to the scales of a snake which are on the head of the snake and are connected to the frontals towards the posterior. These 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 Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving s ...

is undivided. The caudal

scute A scute or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "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 birds. The term is also used to describe the anterior po ...

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) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s, and forests. It is

. Based on gut contents of a single snake, the prey include caecilian ''

Scolecomorphus kirkii ''Scolecomorphus kirkii'' (common names: Kirk's caecilian, Lake Tanganyika caecilian) is a species of caecilian in the family Scolecomorphidae. It is known from southern Malawi east of the Shire River, northern Mozambique, and Tanzania (includin ...

'' 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