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Atractaspis phillipsi BARBOUR, 1913

IUCN Red List - Atractaspis phillipsi - Data Deficient, DD
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Higher TaxaAtractaspididae (Atractaspidinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Phillips’ Burrowing Asp
G: Phillips Erdviper 
SynonymAtractaspis phillipsi BARBOUR 1913
Atractaspis phillipsi — BROADLEY 1994
Atractaspis phillipsi — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007
Atractaspis phillipsi — WALLACH et al. 2014: 67
Atractasis phillipsi — SPAWLS et al. 2023 
DistributionSE Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS)

Type locality: Luiga, Ang-Eazy, Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS)  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: MCZ R-8782 
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 1187 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous! Most common venomous snake in Sudan, together with Naja nubiae and Echis pyramidum (Baleela et al. 2025).

Synonymy: This species has been treated as a synonym of A. microlepidota. Atractaspis phillipsi has been elevated to full species status by BROADLEY 1994. 
EtymologyNamed after Dr. John Charles Phillips (1876-1938), an American physician and traveler. He commanded a field hospital during WWI before and after which he traveled widely making zoological collections for Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. 
References
  • Baleela, R. M., Elamin, M. E., Mohammad, A., & Saeed, S. A. 2025. Medically important snakes in Sudan: an overview of distribution, clinical features and present challenges. Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, trae063 - get paper here
  • Barbour, T. 1913. Reptiles and amphibians from eastern Sudan. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 26: 145-150 - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1994. A collection of snakes from eastern Sudan, with the description of a new species of Telescopus Wagler, 1830 (Reptilia: Ophidia). Journal of African Zoology 108 (2): 201-208.
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Spawls, S., Branch, B. 2020. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Bloomsbury, London, 336 pp. - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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