Atractaspis boulengeri

Atractaspis boulengeri
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Atractaspididae
Genus:	Atractaspis
Species:	A. boulengeri
Binomial name
Atractaspis boulengeri Mocquard, 1897

Atractaspis boulengeri, also known commonly as Boulenger's mole viper, the Central African burrowing asp, and simply the mole viper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Atractaspidinae of the family Lamprophiidae.^[2] The species is endemic to Africa.^[3] There are six recognized subspecies.

Geographic range

A. boulengeri is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.^[4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of A. boulengeri are forest and freshwater wetlands, at altitudes of 10–1,000 m (33–3,281 ft).^[1]

Reproduction

A. boulengeri is oviparous.^[4]

Subspecies

The following six subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized as being valid.^[4]

• Atractaspis boulengeri boulengeri Mocquard, 1897
• Atractaspis boulengeri matschiensis F. Werner, 1897
• Atractaspis boulengeri mixta Laurent, 1945
• Atractaspis boulengeri schmidti Laurent, 1945
• Atractaspis boulengeri schultzei Sternfeld, 1917
• Atractaspis boulengeri vanderborghti Laurent, 1956

Etymology

The specific epithet, boulengeri, is in honor of Belgian-British herpetologist George Albert Boulenger.^[5]

References

1. Kusamba C, Zassi-Boulou A-G, Chirio L, LeBreton M, Gonwouo NL (2021). "Atractaspis boulengeri ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T20878098A20878102.en. Downloaded on 19 September 2021.
2. "Atractaspis ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
3. Spawls S, Branch B (1995). The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Dubai: Oriental Press. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
4. Species Atractaspis boulengeri at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
5. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Atractaspis boulengeri, p. 34).

Further reading

• Laurent RF (1945). "Contribution a la connaissance du Genre Atractaspis A. Smith ". Revue de zoologie et botanique africaines 38: 312–343. (Atractaspis boulengeri mixta, new subspecies; A. b. schmidti, new subspecies). (in French).
• Laurent RF (1956). "Contribution à l'herpétologie de la région des Grandes Lacs de l'Afrique centrale ". Annales du Musée Royal du Congo Belge 48: 1–390. (Atractaspis boulengeri vanderborghti, new subspecies). (in French).
• Mocquard F (1897). "Sur une collection de Reptiles recueillis par M. Haug, à Lambaréné ". Bulletin de la Société Philomathique de Paris, Huitième Série [Eighth Series] 9: 5-20. (Atractaspis boulengeri, new species, pp. 16–17). (in French).
• Sternfeld R (1917). "Reptilia und Amphibia ". pp. 407–510. In: Schubotz JH (1917). Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Zweiten Deutschen Zentral-Afrika-Expedition, 1910–1911 unter Führung Adolph Friedrichs, Herzog zu Mecklenburg. Band I. Zoologie. Leipzig: Klinkhardt & Biermann. 579 pp. (Atractaspis schultzei, new species, pp. 489–490). (in German).
• Werner F (1897). "Ueber Reptilien und Batrachier aus Togoland, Kamerun und Tunis aus dem kgl. Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin ". Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 47: 395–407 + Plate II. (Atractaspis matschiensis, new species, p. 404 + Plate II, figures 1a, 1b). (in German).