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Aspidelaps scutatus (SMITH, 1849)

IUCN Red List - Aspidelaps scutatus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaElapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesAspidelaps scutatus fulafulus (BIANCONI 1849)
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius BROADLEY 1968
Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus (SMITH 1849) 
Common NamesE: scutatus: Common Shield Cobra, Shield-nose Snake
fulafula: Eastern Shield Cobra, Eastern Shield-nose Snake
intermedius: Intermediate Shield Cobra, Intermediate Shield-nose Snake,
G: Schildnasenkobra, Schildkobra 
SynonymAspidelaps scutatus scutatus (SMITH 1849)
Cyrtophis scutatus SMITH 1849: 22
Crytophis [sic] scutatus SMITH 1849 (fide HARDING & WELCH 1980)
Cyrtophis scutatus — PETERS 1882: 139
Aspidelaps scutatus — BOULENGER 1896: 391
Aspidelaps scutatus bachrani MERTENS 1954: 215
Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus — BRANCH 1981: 7
Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus — WELCH 1994: 19
Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus — AUERBACH 1987: 195
Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus — BROADLEY & BLAYLOCK 2013
Aspidelaps scutatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 57
Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus — KEMP & CONRADIE 2017
Aspidelaps scutatus — SCHLEICHER 2020
Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus — STANDER 2023: 319

Aspidelaps scutatus fulafulus (BIANCONI 1849: 108)
Naja fula-fula BIANCONI 1849: 108
Naia fula-fula BIANCONI 1850: 211
Aspidelaps scutatus — BOULENGER 1896: 391
Aspidelaps scutatus fulafula — BRANCH 1981: 9
Aspidelaps scutatus fulafula — JACOBSEN et al. 2010
Aspidelaps scutatus fulafula — PIETERSEN et al. 2013
Aspidelaps scutatus fulafula — BROADLEY & BLAYLOCK 2013

Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius BROADLEY 1968
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius BROADLEY 1968
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius — PIENAAR 1978
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius — BRANCH 1981: 8
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius — WELCH 1994: 19
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius — BOYCOTT 1992
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius — BATES et al. 2014: 395
Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius — STANDER 2023: 320 
DistributionNamibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, NE Republic of South Africa, Mozambique

scutatus: Namibia, Botswana, SW Zimbabwe, NE Transvaal

fulafula: SE Zimbabwe, S Mozambique; type locality: Mozambique.

intermedius: E Transvaal, Eswatini (Swaziland)

Type locality: “Kaffirland and the country toward Natal”  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesType: BMNH 1946.1.17.83 (and possibly additional specimens).
Holotype: DNMNH (= TM) 5434, adult male, collected by Mr. Dreyer Dec 1896. [intermedius]
Holotype: MZUB (?), collected by C. Fornasini between 1842 and 1847 [fulafulus] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 2538 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

BROADLEY (1990) considered A. s. bachrani only as a color variant but not a subspecies of A. scutatus. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin scutum = an oblong shield and scutatus = armed with a shield, an allusion to the broad snout plate which is used for digging (Gotch 1986). 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • 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.
  • Berg, Philipp & Francois Theart 2022. Bildungsarbeit zur Vermeidung von Mensch-Schlange-Konflikten in Namibia. Elaphe 2022 (5): 46-53
  • Bianconi, J. J. 1849. Lettera al Dottore Filippo de–Filippi, Professore di Zoologia a Torino sopra alcune nuove specie di rettili del Mozambico. Nuovi Ann. Sci. Nat. Bologna (ser. 2) 10: 106-109 [1848] - get paper here
  • Bianconi, J.J. 1850. Specimina Zoologica Mosambicana III. Mem. Acad. Sci. Ist. Bologna 1: 199-216 + 2 plates - get paper here
  • Böhm, H.-U. & Oellers, R. 1987. Bemerkungen zur Haltung und Nachzucht von Vertretern der Elapiden-Gattung Aspidelaps FITZNGER 1843. Herpetofauna 9 (51): 15-18 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, Vol. 3. London (Taylor & Francis), xiv + 727 pp. - get paper here
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  • Broadley, D.G. 1959. The herpetology of Southern Rhodesia. Part I--the snakes. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 120 (1): 1-100 [reprint 1972] - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1962. On some reptile collections from the North-Western and North-Eastern Districts of Southern Rhodesia 1958-1961, with descriptions of four new lizards. Occ. Pap. Nat. Mus. South. Rhodesia 26 (B): 787-843
  • Broadley, D.G. 1968. A revision of Aspidelaps scutatus (A. Smith) (Serpentes: Elapinae). Arnoldia 4 (2): 1-9
  • Broadley, Donald G., and Andrew S. Baldwin 2006. Taxonomy, natural history, and zoogeography of the Southern African Shield Cobras, Genus Aspidelaps (Serpentes: Elapidae). Herpetological Natural History 9 (2): 163-176.
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Fitzsimons, V.F.M.; Brain, C.K. 1958. A Short account of the Reptiles of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Koedoe, 1(1): 99-104 - get paper here
  • Gotch, A. F. 1986. Reptiles - Their Latin Names Explained. Blandford Press, 176 pp.
  • Haacke, W.D. 1993. Geographical Distribution - Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (42): 42-42 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G. V. 1991. Life History Note: Aspidelaps scutatus: Reproduction. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (39): 26-26 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G.V.; Carpenter, G. 1990. Venoms and Snakebite: Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus: Envenomation. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (37): 60-60 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G.V.; Morgan, D.R. 1992. Captive Biology of the Shield - Nosed Snake, Aspidelaps scutatus intermedius. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (40): 90-94 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • Jacobsen, Niels H.G.; Errol W. Pietersen & Darren W. Pietersen 2010. A preliminary herpetological survey of the Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary on the San Sebastian Peninsula, Vilankulo, Mozambique. Herpetology Notes 3: 181-193
  • KEMP, L. & W. CONRADIE 2017. ELAPIDAE: Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus A. Smith 1849 Common Shield Cobra - COMMON SHIELD COBRA IN SOUTH AFRICA. African Herp News (65): 42-44 - get paper here
  • Knauf, S. & Schmidt, P. 2003. Zur Haltung und Zucht der Schildnasenkobra Aspidelaps scutatus scutatus (SMITH, 1848) mit Anmerkungen zu den Unterarten (Serpentes: Elapidae). Sauria (Berlin) 25 (1): 11-18 - get paper here
  • Mertens, R. 1954. Neue Schlangenrassen aus Südwest- und Südafrika. Zool. Anz. 152: 213-219
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  • Peters,W. 1882. Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique auf Befehl seiner Majestät es Königs Friedrich Wilhelm IV. in den Jahren 1842 bis 1848 ausgefeführt von Wilhelm C. Peters. Zoologie III. Amphibien. Berlin (Reimer), 191pp.
  • Pienaar, Uys de Villiers 1978. The Reptile Fauna of the Kruger National Park. Pretoria: National Parks Board of South Africa, i-vii, 222 S.
  • Pietersen, Darren W. Pietersen, Errol W. Haacke, Wulf D. 2013. First herpetological appraisal of the Parque Nacional de Banhine, Gaza Province, southern Mozambique. Annals of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History 3: 153-163 - get paper here
  • Reissig, Jens, Craig Van Rensburg and Campbell Shaw. 2015. Geographic Distribution. Aspidelaps scutatus fulafula Bianconi, 1849, Eastern Shield Cobra. African Herp News (62): 43-44 - get paper here
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