Aspidelaps lubricus (LAURENTI, 1768)
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Aspidelaps lubricus
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi BOGERT 1940 Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus (LAURENTI 1768) |
| Common Names | E: cowlesi: Angolan Coral Snake infuscatus: Western Coral Snake lubricus: Cape Coral Snake G: Kap-Zwergschildkobra, Schildnasenkobra |
| Synonym | Natrix lubrica LAURENTI 1768: 80 Elaps lubricus MERREM 1820: 143 Naia Somersetta SMITH 1826: 253 Elaps lubricus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 1218 Aspidelaps lubricus — STERNFELD 1910: 57 Aspidelaps lubricus — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958 Aspidelaps lubricus — BRANCH 1981 Aspidelaps lubricus — WELCH 1994: 19 Aspidelaps lubricus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 56 Aspidelaps lubricus — SCHLEICHER 2020 Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi BOGERT 1940 Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi BOGERT 1940: 94 Aspidelaps lubricus infuscatus MERTENS 1954: 215 Aspidelaps lubricus infuscatus — WELCH 1994: 19 Aspidelaps lubricus infuscatus — BAUER et al. 1993 Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi — WELCH 1994: 19 Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi — BROADLEY & BALDWIN 2006 Aspidelaps lubricus infuscatus — CIMATTI 2007 Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007 Aspidelaps lubricus infuscatus — SCHLEICHER 2015: 212 Aspidelaps lubricus infuscatus — MARQUES et al. 2018 Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus (LAURENTI 1768) Natrix lubrica LAURENTI 1768: 80 Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus — WELCH 1994: 19 Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007 Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus — BATES et al. 2014: 394 |
| Distribution | Republic of South Africa (Cape Province), S Angola, Namibia lubricus: Cape Province, Orange Free State cowlesi: S Angola, N Namibia; Type locality: “Munhino (101 km east of Mossamedes, via railroad)” (Bogert 1940:95) [= Muninho, 101 km east of Namibe], Namibe Province, Angola. infuscatus: Namibia Type locality: Cape of Good Hope |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: iconotype, based on specimen in Seba, 1735: pl. 43, fig. 3. Holotype: AMNH 32801 (collectors A.S. Vernay, H. Lang and R. Boulton). [cowlesi] |
| Diagnosis | Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (3244 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Venomous! BROADLEY & BALDWIN synonymized Aspidelaps lubricus infuscatus with A. l. cowlesi. Type species: Elaps lubricus MERREM 1820 is the type species of the genus Aspidelaps FITZINGER 1843: 28. Key: Branch 1981 provides a key to Southern African species. Behavior: Although usually considered relatively harmless, this belief may stem from their small size, and the presence of few published case-histories. However, A. l. infuscatus , at least, has a highly toxic venom, and is capable of inflicting a potentially dangerous bite. (Branch 1981) Habitat: In habits both species are semi-fossorial, and to this end the enlarged rostral may be likened to a bulldozer-blade, aiding the snake in burrowing through loose soil. This character is shared by a number of other semi-fossorial shakes, noticeable the coiubrids Lytorhynchus and PhyIlorhynchus. A. Iubricus has a less well-developed rostral than scutatus, and this may be correlated with the more arid regions that it inhabits. (Branch 1981) |
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