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Aspidelaps lubricus (LAURENTI, 1768)

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Higher TaxaElapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesAspidelaps lubricus cowlesi BOGERT 1940
Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus (LAURENTI 1768) 
Common NamesE: cowlesi: Angolan Coral Snake
infuscatus: Western Coral Snake
lubricus: Cape Coral Snake
G: Kap-Zwergschildkobra, Schildnasenkobra 
SynonymNatrix 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 
DistributionRepublic 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  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: iconotype, based on specimen in Seba, 1735: pl. 43, fig. 3.
Holotype: AMNH 32801 (collectors A.S. Vernay, H. Lang and R. Boulton). [cowlesi] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (3244 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

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) 
References
  • Akeret, B. 2004. Grundlagen der Giftschlangenhaltung. Draco 5 (17): 37-53 - get paper here
  • BARTS, M. & J. BOONE 2009. Das Portät: Aspidelaps lubricus lubricus (LAURENTI). Sauria 31 (1): 1-2 - get paper here
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
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  • Bogert,C.M. 1940. Herpetological results of the Vernay Angola Expedition. I. Snakes, including an arrangement of the African Colubridae. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 77: 1-107 - get paper here
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