Atractaspididae

Atractaspididae

Common names: Mole vipers, stiletto snakes, burrowing asps.
The Atractaspididae are a family of venomous snakes found in Africa and the Middle East. Currently, 12 genera are recognized.

Description

This family includes many genera formerly classed in other families, on the basis of fang type. It includes fangless (aglyphous), rear-fanged (opisthoglyphous), fixed-fanged (proteroglyphous), and viper-like (solenoglyphous) species. Molecular and physiological data linking this family to others is ambiguous and often contradictory, which means the taxonomy of this family is highly contentious. The nominate family, Atractaspididae has itself been moved to and from other taxa, reinforcing the ambiguity of this family.

Genera

Species Taxon author Genus Common name Geographic range
Amblyodipsas Peters, 1857 9
Aparallactus A. Smith, 1849 11
Atractaspis A. Smith, 1849 15 Stiletto snakes
Brachyophis Mocquard, 1888 1
Chilorhinophis Werner, 1907 3
Elapotinus Jan, 1862 1
Hypoptophis Boulenger, 1896 1
Macrelaps Boulenger, 1896 1
Micrelaps Boettger, 1880 3
Poecilopholis Boulenger, 1903 1
Polemon Jan, 1858 13
Xenocalamus Günther, 1868 5

See also

References

External links

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