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Atractaspididae
Atractaspis engaddensis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Superfamily:	Elapoidea
Family:	Atractaspididae Günther, 1858
Synonyms
Aparallactinae

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 genera formerly classed in other families and subfamilies, on the basis of fang type. It includes fangless (aglyphous), rear-fanged (opisthoglyphous), fixed-fanged (proteroglyphous), and viper-like (solenoglyphous) species. Early molecular and physiological data linking this subfamily to others were ambiguous and often contradictory, which means the taxonomy of this subfamily has been highly contentious. The nominate family, Atractaspididae, has itself been moved to and from other taxa, such as potentially forming a trichotomy with Elapidae and Colubridae, reinforcing the ambiguity of this subfamily.

Geographic range

This subfamily is found in Africa and the Middle East.

Venom

Many of these snakes are inoffensive or far too small to envenomate a person effectively. However, some can inflict severe tissue necrosis; e.g. if the victim's thumb is bitten, the tip of that digit may be lost. Relapses may occur long after the bite. The bites of stiletto snakes are often exceptionally painful.

Very few deaths have resulted from accidents with these snakes, although large individuals of Atractaspis microlepidota and other long-glanded species are very likely to be dangerous. Some of the long-fanged species are able to stab their prey (or an unfortunate human) even while their mouths are closed, and the typical grasp used by herpetologists to securely hold venomous snakes is not safe for this group. This ability to stab sideways even with a closed mouth is the basis for an English name used for some of them: "side-stabbing snakes" or "side-stabbers".

Genera

Taxonomy

This family was previously classified as a subfamily of the Colubridae: the Aparallactinae.

Gallery

• Amblyodipsas type species; eastern purple-glossed snake (A. microphthalma)
• Aparallactus type species; Cape centipede-eater (A. capensis)
• Atractaspis type species; southern stiletto snake (A. bibronii)
• Homoroselaps type species; spotted harlequin snake (H. lacteus)
• Macrelaps type species; Natal black snake (M. microlepidotus)
• Micrelaps type species; Müller's snake (M. muelleri)
• Xenocalamus type species; slender quill-snouted snake (X. bicolor)

See also

• List of atractaspidid species and subspecies

References

1. Pyron, R. Alexander; et al. (2011). "The phylogeny of advanced snakes (Colubroidea), with discovery of a new subfamily and comparison of support methods for likelihood trees" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 58 (2): 329–342. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.11.006. PMID 21074626. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2013.
2. ^ "Atractaspididae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
3. Jackson, Kate (March 2003). "The evolution of venom-delivery systems in snakes". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 137 (3): 337–354. doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2003.00052.x. S2CID 22522675.
4. ^ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
5. ^ Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
6. Parker HW, Grandison AGC. 1977. Snakes -- a natural history. Second Edition. British Museum (Natural History) and Cornell University Press. 108 pp. 16 plates. LCCN 76--54625. ISBN 0-8014-1095-9 (cloth), ISBN 0-8014-9164-9 (paper).
7. Margres, Mark J; Aronow, Karalyn; Loyacano, Jacob; Rokyta, Darin R (2013). "The venom-gland transcriptome of the eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius) reveals high venom complexity in the intragenomic evolution of venoms". BMC Genomics. 14 (1): 531. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-14-531. ISSN 1471-2164. PMC 3750283. PMID 23915248.
8. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "I Was Bitten - Flesh Eating Snakebite". YouTube.
9. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Stiletto Snake". YouTube.
10. "Snake That Can Stab Sideways With Fangs Sticking Out Corner of Its Mouth Discovered". Newsweek. March 12, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
11. "Beware of the Stiletto Snake - African Snakebite Institute". African Snakebite Institute. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
12. Atractaspididae at the TIGR Reptile Database
13. Kurnik, Daniel; Haviv, Yael; Kochva, Elazar (1999). "A snake bite by the Burrowing Asp, Atractaspis engaddensis". Toxicon. 37 (1): 223–227. doi:10.1016/S0041-0101(98)00166-4. PMID 9920494.
14. Deufel, Alexandra; Cundall, David (2003). "Feeding in Atractaspis (Serpentes: Atractaspididae): a study in conflicting functional constraints" (PDF). Zoology. 106 (1): 43–61. doi:10.1078/0944-2006-00088. PMID 16351890.
15. "Search results | the Reptile Database".

External links

• Atractaspidinae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 3 November 2008.
• Atractaspids at Life is Short but Snakes are Long
• Stiletto snakes at Tetrapod Zoology
• iNaturalist link

• Atractaspididae
• Snake subfamilies
• Taxa named by Albert Günther