Atractaspis engdahli

Atractaspis engdahli
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. engdahli
Binomial name
Atractaspis engdahli Lönnberg & Andersson, 1913

Atractaspis engdahli, also known commonly as Engdahl's burrowing asp, Engdahl's burrowing viper, and the mole viper, is a species of venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae.[2] The species is endemic to Africa.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, engdahli, is in honor of Swedish missionary Theodor Engdahl, who collected the holotype.[4]

Geographic range

A. engdahli is found in north-eastern Kenya and in Somalia.[5]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of A. engdahli are savanna, shrubland, and grassland, at altitudes from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft).[1]

Behaviour

A. engdahli is terrestrial and nocturnal. It is often found in termite nests and in holes in the ground.[1]

Reproduction

A. engdahli is oviparous.[5]

References

1. Malonza P, Spawls S (2021). "Atractaspis engdahli ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T20878130A20878135.en. Accessed on 28 December 2022.
2. "Atractaspis ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
3. Spawls S, Branch B (1995).The Dangerous Snakes of Africa: Natural History, Species Directory, Venoms and Snakebite. Revised edition. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
4. 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 engdahli, p. 84).
5. Species Atractaspis engdahli at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

• Lanza B (1990). "Amphibians and reptiles of the Somali Democratic Republic: checklist and biogeography". Biogeographia 14: 407–465.
• Lönnberg E, Andersson LG (1913). "On a collection of reptiles from Kismayu". Arkiv för Zoologi, Uppsala 8: 1–6. (Atractaspis engdahli, new species, pp. 5–6, Figure 1, three views of head).
• Spawls S, Howell K, Drewes R, Ashe J (2004). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. London: A & C Black Publisher Ltd. 543 pp. ISBN 0-7136-6817-2.
• Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618. (Atractaspis engdahli, p. 474).