Atractaspis duerdeni
Appearance
Atractaspis duerdeni | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Atractaspididae |
Genus: | Atractaspis |
Species: | A. duerdeni
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Binomial name | |
Atractaspis duerdeni Gough, 1907
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Atractaspis duerdeni, commonly known as the beaked burrowing asp[1] or Duerden's burrowing asp, is a species of venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae.[2]
Etymology
The specific epithet, duerdeni, is in honor of James Edwin Duerden, Ph.D., (1865-1937) of the Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa.[3][4]
Geographic range
A. duerdeni is endemic to Africa.[5]
Description
A. duerdeni is cream-colored above and below. 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.[3]
References
- ^ "Atractaspis duerdeni ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ "Atractaspis ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- ^ a b Gough, Lewis Henry (1907). "Description of a new species of Atractaspis collected at Serowe, North Eastern Kalahari". Rec. Albany Museum 2: 178-179. (Atractaspis duerdeni, new species).
- ^ 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).
- ^ Spawls S, Branch B (1995). The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Dubai: Oriental Press. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
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).