You are here » home › advanced search › search results › Pseudaspis cana

Pseudaspis cana (LINNAEUS, 1758)

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Pseudaspis cana?

Add your own observation of
Pseudaspis cana »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaPseudaspididae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mole Snake
G: Maulwurfsnatter 
SynonymColuber canus LINNAEUS 1758: 221
Coluber padera LINNAEUS 1758
Coluber margaritaceus DONNDORFF 1798 (fide BAUER & GÜNTHER 2013)
Duberria cana — FITZINGER 1826
Coronella cana — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 613
Pseudaspis cana — COPE 1864: 168
Cadnus cuneiformis THEOBALD (fide FITZSIMONS 1966)
Coronella phocarum GÜNTHER (fide FITZSIMONS 1966)
Coronella cana — SYMONDS 1887: 486
Ophirhina anchietae BOCAGE 1895 (fide FITZSIMONS 1966)
Pseudaspis cana — BOULENGER 1893: 373
Pseudaspis cana — LOVERIDGE 1936
Pseudaspis cana — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958
Pseudaspis cana — AUERBACH 1987: 159
Pseudaspis cana — BOYCOTT 1992
Pseudaspis cana — BROADLEY 1998
Pseudaspis cana — CIMATTI 2007
Pseudaspis cana — WALLACH et al. 2014: 596
Pseudaspis cana — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 412 
DistributionNamibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Republic of South Africa,
Kenya, S Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Rwanda, Burundi, Swaziland

Type locality: “Indiis” (in error)  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: NRM 22; ZMB 65712 (not a type) appears to be pictured in Merrem 1790: 42, 1821: 52 (fide BAUER & GÜNTHER 2014)
Holotype: NRM 23 [Coluber padera] 
Diagnosis 
CommentType species: Coluber canus LINNAEUS 1758 is the type species of the genus Pseudaspis FITZINGER 1843.

Type genus: Pseudaspis FITZINGER 1843 is the type genus of the family Pseudaspididae DOWLING & DUELLMAN 1978 (or the subfamily Pseudaspidinae DOWLING & DUELLMAN 1978). The family includes two genera, Pseudaspis and Pythonodipsas GÜNTHER 1868 fide Kelly et al. 2009 and Vidal et al. 2008. However, Zaher et al. 2019 also included Psammodynastes the family, which is followed here. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Baptista NL, António T, Branch WR. 2019. The herpetofauna of Bicuar National Park and surroundings, southwestern Angola: a preliminary checklist. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2) [Special Section]: 96–130 (e203) - get paper here
  • Barends, J. M., & Maritz, B. 2021. Specialized morphology, not relatively large head size, facilitates competition between a small‐bodied specialist and large‐bodied generalist competitors. Journal of Zoology - get paper here
  • Barts, M. & W. D. Haacke 1997. Zur Reptilienfauna der Tsodilo - Berge und angrenzender Gebiete in NW - Botswana Teil II: Sauria II; Serpents. Sauria 19 (4): 15-21 - 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.
  • Bauer, A.M., and Branch, W.R. 2003. The herpetofauna of the Richtersveld National Park, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. Herpetological Natural History 8: 111-160 [2001]
  • Bauer, Aaron M. & Rainer Günther 2014. Die Amphibien und Reptilien aus der von Borcke-Sammlung des Berliner Museums für Naturkunde: eine Fundgrube für verschollen geglaubtes Seba-Material. Sekretär 14 (1): 3-33 - get paper here
  • Bauer, Aaron M. and Rainer Günther 2013. Origin and identity of the von Borcke collection of amphibians and reptiles in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin: A cache of Seba specimens? Zoosystematics and Evolution 89 (1): 167–185 - get paper here
  • Bauer, Aaron M.; Branch, William R. & Haacke, Wulf D. 1993. The herpetofauna of the Kamanjab area and adjacent Damaraland, Namibia. Madoqua (Windhoek) 18 (2): 117-145. - get paper here
  • Bocage,J.V. du B. 1895. Herpétologie d'Angola et du Congo. Lisbon: Imprimerie Nationale, i-xx, 203 pp. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • BOURQUIN, O. & V. GRUENER 2017. A NOTE ON THE HERPETOFAUNA OF MODISA CAMP (BOTSWANA) AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. African Herp News (64): 9-26 - get paper here
  • Boycott, R. 1990. A Report on Copulation and Parturition in the Mole Snake, Pseudaspis cana, at the Transvaal Snake Park. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (38): 56-56 - get paper here
  • Boycott, R.C. 1992. An Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Swaziland. The Conservation Trust of Swaziland - get paper here
  • Brain, C.K. 1959. Mating in the South African Mole Snake, Pseudaspis cana (Linnaeus) Copeia 1959 (1): 71-72. - get paper here
  • Brain, C.K. 1960. On the Hemipenis of the Mole Snake, Pseudaspis cana Copeia 1960 (2): 155. - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Broadley, D. & Blaylock 2013. The Snakes of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 387 pp. [book review in Sauria 35 (2): 59 and Copeia 2014: 388] - get paper here
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • 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. 1998. The reptilian fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). In: Schmidt, K.P. and Noble, G.K., Contributions to the Herpetology of the Belgian Congo... [reprint of the 1919 and 1923 papers]. SSAR Facsimile reprints in Herpetology, 780 pp.
  • Broadley, D.G.; Doria, C.T. & Wigge, J. 2003. Snakes of Zambia. An Atlas and Field Guide. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 280 pp. [review in Sauria 26 (3): 21]
  • Broadley, Donald G. and F. P. D. Cotterill. 2004. The reptiles of southeast Katanga, an overlooked 'hot spot'. [Congo]. African Journal of Herpetology 53 (1): 35-61. - get paper here
  • Butler, B O; Ceríaco, L M P; Marques, M P; Bandeira, S; Júlio, T; Heinicke, M P & Bauer, A M; 2019. Herpetological survey of Huíla Province, Southwest Angola, including first records of Bicuar National Park. Herpetological Review 50 (2): 225-240 - get paper here
  • Ceríaco, Luis M. P. and Mariana P. Marques 2021. Serpentes Venenosas de Angola. Guia de Identificação e Primeiros Socorros. Arte e Ciéncia, Porto, Portugal, 216 pp. - get paper here
  • Chifundera, K. 1990. Snakes of Zaire and their bites. Afr. Stud. Monogr. (Kyoto) 10(3): 137-157.
  • Chippaux, Jean-Philippe & Kate Jackson 2019. Snakes of Central and Western Africa. Johns Hopkins University Press, 448 pp. [detaileld review in HR 51 (1): 161] - get paper here
  • Cimatti, E. 2007. Namibia - Introduction to a vast territory. Reptilia (GB) (50): 58-67 - get paper here
  • Conradie W and Branch WR. 2016. The herpetofauna of the Cubango, Cuito, and lower Cuando river catchments of south-eastern Angola. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10 (2) [Special Section]: 6–36 - get paper here
  • Conradie, Werner; Brian Reeves , Neil Brown, & Jan A. Venter 2016. Herpetofauna of the Oviston, Commando Drift and Tsolwana nature reserves in the arid interior of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Indago 32: 81-98 - get paper here
  • CONRADIE, WERNER; NINDA L. BAPTISTA, LUKE VERBURGT, CHAD KEATES, JAMES HARVEY, TIMOTEO JULIO & GOTZ NEEF. 2021. Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 1: Serpentes (snakes). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 15(2): 244–278. - get paper here
  • Evans AM, Choiniere JN, Alexander GJ. 2019. The cutting-edge morphology of the mole snake’s dental apparatus. PeerJ 7:e6943 - get paper here
  • FINN, K., C. VOIGT, V. VAN JAARSVELD, D. W. HART, AND J. JORNA 2020. Pseudaspis cana (Mole Snake). Diet And Habitat Use. Herpetological Review 51: 626-627.
  • Fitzsimons, V. 1966. A check-list, with syntopic keys, to the snakes of southern Africa. Annals Transvaal Museum 25 (3): 35-79 - 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
  • Fraser M. 2023. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa. Biodiversity Observations 13: 162–185. 14 March 2023 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G. V. 1990. Geographical Distribution - Pseudaspis cana. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (37): 56-56 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G.V.; Branch, W.R. 1996. Life History Notes - Pseudaspis cana. African Herp News (25): 41-42 - 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
  • Kelly, Christopher M. R.; Nigel P. Barker, Martin H. Villet and Donald G. Broadley 2009. PHYLOGENY, BIOGEOGRAPHY AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE SNAKE SUPERFAMILY ELAPOIDEA: A RAPID RADIATION IN THE LATE EOCENE. Cladistics 25: 38-63 - get paper here
  • Laita, Mark 2013. Serpentine. Abrams and PQ Blackwell, Auckland, New Zealand, 200 unnumbered pages
  • Linnaeus, C. [= Linné, C. von] 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiæ. 10th Edition: 824 pp. - get paper here
  • Loveridge, A. 1936. African reptiles and amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History. Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Chicago, 22 (1): 1-122 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, Arthur 1929. East African reptiles and amphibians in the United States National Museum. Bull. US Natl. Mus. (151): 1-135 - get paper here
  • Marais, J. 2004. A Complete Guide to the Snakes of Southern Africa, 2nd ed. Struik Publishers, 312 pp.
  • Marques, Mariana P.; Luis M. P. Ceríaco , David C. Blackburn , and Aaron M. Bauer 2018. Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola -- Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840–2017). Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (Ser. 4) 65: 1-501 (Supplement II)
  • MASHININI, P.L., MAHLANGU, L.M., HAACKE, W.D., & JACOBS, T.-A. 2008. Pseudaspis cana (Linnaeus, 1754). Arboreal behaviour. African Herp News (44): 21 - get paper here
  • Mehrtens, J.M. 1987. Living snakes of the world in color. Sterling Publ. Co., hic., New York, NY: 480 pp.
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Pietersen DW, Pietersen EW, Conradie W. 2017. Preliminary herpetological survey of Ngonye Falls and surrounding regions in south-western Zambia. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 11(1) [Special Section]: 24–43 (e148 - get paper here
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2015. Reptilien Namibias. Namibia Scientific  Society, 276 pp.
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2020. Reptiles of Namibia. Kuiseb Publishers, Windhoek, Namibia, 271 pp.
  • Seung Hoon, Cha 2012. Snake, the world most beautifull curve [in Korean]. Hownext, 304 pp. [ISBN 978-89-965656-7-3] - get paper here
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • STANDER, R. 2013. Pseudaspis cana (Linnaeus, 1754) Diet. African Herp News (59): 36-37 - get paper here
  • Sternfeld, R. 1910. Zur Schlangenfauna Deutsch-Südwestafrikas. Mehrere Fälle von Mimikry bei afrikanischen Schlangen. Mitt. zool. Mus. Berlin, 5: 51-60 - get paper here
  • Sweeney, R. C. H. 1963. Two uncommonly seen snakes in Nyasaland. The Nyasaland Journal 16 (1): 71-72 - get paper here
  • Sweeney, R. C. H. 1963. Mole snakes (Pseudaspis cana, Linnaeus). The Nyasaland Journal 16 (2): 34 - get paper here
  • Symonds, E. 1887. Notes on some species of South-African snakes. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1887: 486-489 - get paper here
  • Tolley KA, Telford NS, Makhubo BG, Power RJ, Alexander GJ 2023. Filling the gap: Noteworthy herpetological discoveries in North West Province, South Africa. Zoosystematics and Evolution 99(1): 101-116 - get paper here
  • VIDAL, NICOLAS;WILLIAM R. BRANCH, OLIVIER S.G. PAUWELS,, S. BLAIR HEDGES, DONALD G. BROADLEY, MICHAEL WINK, CORINNE CRUAUD, ULRICH JOGER & ZOLTÁN TAMÁS NAGY 2008. Dissecting the major African snake radiation: a molecular phylogeny of the Lamprophiidae Fitzinger (Serpentes, Caenophidia). Zootaxa 1945: 51–66 - get paper here
  • VISSER, J. 2010. Variation in hemipenes of different colour phases of Pseudaspis cana (Linneaus) warrants re-evaluation of the species. African Herp News (51): 2-3 - 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.
  • WITBERG, M. 2012. Pseudaspis cana Linnaeus, 1754 Cannibalism/Reproduction. African Herp News (57): 11 - get paper here
  • Witberg, Marcel. 2007. Pseudaspis cana Maximum size. African Herp News (42): 18-19 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Pseudaspis&species=cana

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator