burrowing snakes - wildlifecampus...and experienced snake handlers use to pin the snake involved...

– WildlifeCampus Snakes and Reptiles of the Lowveld Course

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Burrowing Snakes © Copyright

Family Lamprophiidae As the name suggests, these snakes are largely subterranean. Their heads are not very distinctive from the rest of the body and are usually rounded or blunt.

There are front and back fanged fangs species in the family. Although fanged, most of them are not dangerous to humans. All species are oviparous with one exception.

Module # 4 - Component # 4

Burrowing Snakes



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Sub-Family Atractaspidinae 3 species occur in southern Africa, of which two occur in South Africa. They have very small eyes with round pupils. There are symmetrical head scales and the head is pointed. Great care must be taken with this species, as they are practically impossible to handle. The difficulty (impossibility) in handling the asps is due to the interesting characteristic they can rotate their fangs to the side. The position that professional and experienced snake handlers use to pin the snake involved having their thumb right up against the side of the fang. The asp then just rotates a fang and jabs their head slightly to the side, thus snake 1, handler 0. All other species of front and rear-fanged snakes are not able to rotate fangs in multiple directions, only up-down. The Asps will even push their fang through their own lip to make sure they stab their assailant. They only have two fangs at the front of the jaw. Although venomous, no anti-venom is required to treat the bite, and there are no recorded fatalities by the Southern African species, the venom is cytotoxic. Normally they will deliver multiple bites, using only one fang by biting sideward. Amputation or partial amputation of fingers is often required. They are usually dark brown to black in colour with light ventral scales. Normally active at night searching for food, which varies from rodents to skinks and even other snakes. The species endemic to the Lowveld are:

Bibron's Burrowing Asp Duerdren's Burrowing Asp



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Bibron's Stiletto Snake Atractaspis bibronii

Characteristics:

Pointed head shape Dark body with whitish ventral scales Loreal scale absent The tail ends in a sharp point Small eyes Impossible to handle!

Other Names: Southern Stiletto Snake, Southern Burrowing Asp, Bibron's Stiletto Snake, Side-stabbing Snake, Burrowing Adder, Suidelike sypikslang Habitat: They occur in moist to arid savannah and into the Lowveld Reproduction: Oviparous - 3-7 eggs



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Description: This species is easily mistaken for two other harmless species. Unfortunately, all the species overlap one another making identification very difficult, and probably the hardest group to identify except for Blind and Thread Snakes. This species has very small eyes, usually black in appearance with a light-coloured belly and a sharp-pointed tail. The ventral scales may be blotched black, but this is unusual. During the day they take refuge under rocks, logs or in old termite mounds, emerging after rains or on humid nights.

They mainly eat similar burrowing reptiles but will take small mammals or frogs. Females will lay up to 7 eggs at the end of the year or mid-summer. Hatchlings measure around 15cm. There are differences between the four species, but they are subtle and very careful observation is required. Do not pick up any of the following snakes until a confirmed identification is made. The species that cause the greatest confusion are the Cape Wolf Snake, Natal Black Snake and the Purple-glossed Snake.



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Confusing Species: 1. The Cape Wolf Snake (Lycophidion capense) differs in that it has two supraocular

scales and not one as in the other species. The head of the Cape Wolf Snake is squarer when looked at from the top and they have two enlarged scales behind the parietal scales. The wolf snake also has a white speckled appearance.

2. The Natal Black Snake (Makrelaps microlepidotus) has a rectangular supraocular

scale, In the Purple-glossed species and the Bibron’s Burrowing Asp, it is squarer in shape. They have 7 upper labials and 8 lower labials whereas the Bibron’s Burrowing Asp has 5. The tail is also longer.

3. The Purple-glossed Snake (Amblyodipsas polyepsis and other Amblyodipsas spp.

has a pointed head shape and doesn’t have any preoculars. Bibron’s Burrowing Asp has 1 preocular. They normally have 7 lower labials compared to 6, but the Purple-glossed snake has been recorded having 6 or 8. It also normally has 6 but may have 5 upper labials, while the Bibron’s Burrowing Asp has five (5).

Below are diagrams showing the head scale of the snakes together, to allow for easier comparison. The shaded scales indicate what is normally restricted to that species for identification.



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Distribution: They occur in moist to arid savannah and into the Lowveld

Distribution of Bibron's Stiletto Snake



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Duerdren's Burrowing Asp Atractaspis duerdeni

Characteristics:

Pointed head shape, more so than Bibron's Burrowing Asp Dark upper body with light ventral scale Impossible to handle! Loreal scale absent Small eye The tail ends in a sharp point



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Other names: Duerdren's Stiletto Snake, Beaked Burrowing Asp, Side-Stabbing Snake, Haakneussypikslang Habitat: They occur in arid savannah and bushveld Reproduction: Oviparous - presumed to be similar to Bibron's Burrowing Asp Description: This species is similar to Bibron’s Burrowing Asp except for distribution, habitat and the description or colouration. Again this species can be misidentified as described for Bibron’s Burrowing Asp. The species has very small eyes, usually black in appearance with a light-coloured belly. The belly colouration normally extends slightly up the side of the body. The head is also beaked, differing from all the other species described relating to the identification of this species and Bibron’s Burrowing Asp. During the day they take refuge under rocks, logs or in old termite mounds, emerging after rains or on humid nights. They mainly eat similar burrowing reptiles but will take small mammals or frogs. This species is reported to be less aggressive than Bibron’s Burrowing Asp, but bites are still often inflicted. Distribution: This species occurs in Savannah, bushveld and thornveld.

Distribution of Duerdren's Burrowing Asp



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Sub-Family Aparallactinae 7 species occur in the Lowveld. They are slender snakes that spend their life burrowing and are often found in termite mounds. As the common name, centipede-eater infers, they do almost feed exclusively on centipedes. They are back fanged, and the venom is to immobilise and kill their prey. The anal scale is single and the subcaudals are not divided. They have small smooth scales over the entire body. The head is not easily distinguished from the body. Species examined in this course include:

Black-headed Centipede Eater Reticulated Centipede Eater Common Purple-Glossed Snake Natal Purple-Glossed Snake Eastern Purple-Glossed Snake Transvaal Quill-Snouted Snake Bi-Coloured Quill Snouted Snake



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Black-Headed Centipede Eater Aparallactus capensis

Characteristics:

Beige with blackhead Slender body

Other Names: Black-headed Centipede-eater, Swartkop-honderdpoortvreter Habitat: Coastal bush to montane grasslands, savannah including the Highveld and Lowveld, bushveld and thornveld Reproduction: Oviparous - 4 eggs.



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Description: These snakes are rarely seen because of their underground habits. They are found under rocks and logs, but normally in disused termite mounds. They struggle when first caught often attempting to bite. The jaws are very small, and biting is totally ineffective against man. They feed primarily on centipedes. They catch the centipede and bite along the body, spreading the venom in the entire body. As with all snakes, they will then swallow the prey headfirst. If bitten by the centipede, they normally release and then continue biting until the food is dead. The snake is easily identifiable by the blackhead extending just past the neck towards the body. The black is not present to the sides of the neck. The body colouration is usually a light or reddish-brown, grey or yellow-brown to dark brown, with light coloured ventral scales (belly).



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Distribution: Coastal bush to montane grasslands, savannah including the Highveld and Lowveld, bushveld and thornveld

Distribution of the Black-Headed Centipede Eater



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Reticulated Centipede Eater Aparallactus lunulatus

Characteristics:

Slender snake Black collar with dark blotches along the back

Other Names: Gebande honderpoortvreter Habitat: Restricted mainly to the Lowveld Reproduction: Oviparous - 4 eggs. Description: This species is similar to the Cape Centipede Eater except for habitat, size, description and prey. This species will also eat scorpions in addition to centipedes. On average they reach around 40cm but may attain a length over 50cm. Colouration is the main feature that is so different. The scales are dark-edged, and the body is normally olive-brown, grey to dark brown and the ventral scales are usually white with a hint of green. Occasionally grey may be present on the belly, but rare. Juveniles may have a black collar and up to 12 saddles on their back, both of which fade as they age.



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Distribution: Restricted mainly to the Lowveld

Distribution of the Reticulated Centipede eater



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Common Purple-glossed Snake Amblyodipsas polylepis polylepis

Characteristics:

Small eyes Plain black to purple-black colour Thickish bodied snake with a non-distinct head Slightly pointed head shape

Other Names: Gewone persglansslang, Gewone purpergrondslang Habitat: Savannah including the Highveld and Lowveld, bushveld and thornveld Reproduction: Oviparous. Description: The entire body is dark brown to black and has a purple shine or gloss from which the common name originates. This is the largest of the species and has a thickset body. Head scales are one of the differentiating aspects between the Purple-glossed snakes’ species. In this species, the 5th upper labial is the largest of the 6. The Prefrontal and the Internasal scales are not fused together. These snakes feed on other burrowing reptiles and occasionally lizards or skinks. They will normally seize the prey and constrict. The constriction is not really to kill, but to stop the captor from escaping as the venom on larger prey may take anything up to 4 hours to kill the animal. When captured they are normally very docile, rarely attempting to bite, but do not attempt to handle this species or any species!!!



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Distribution: Savannah including the Highveld and Lowveld, bushveld and thornveld

Distribution of Common Purple-glossed Snake



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Natal Purple-glossed Snake Amblyodipsas concolor

Characteristics:

Small eyes Plain black to purple-black colour Thickish bodied snake with a non-distinct rounded head

Other Names: Natalse persglansslang, Natalse purpergrondslang Habitat: Prefer more moist habitats in the region and mainly occur in forested regions. Reproduction: Oviparous Description: This species is similar to the Common Purple-glossed snake except for habitat, size and head scales. The 5th upper labial is also the biggest, but this species has 2 pairs of chin shields. The Prefrontal and the Internasal scales are not fused together. This species is smaller and normally reaches 40-50cm but can get slightly longer



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Distribution: Prefer more moist habitats in the region and mainly occur in forested regions.

Distribution of the Natal Purple-glossed Snake



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Eastern Purple-glossed Snake Amblyodipsas micropthalma spp

A very closely related subspecies is the Black White-lipped snake

Characteristics:

Plain black to purple-black colour with whitish labials and throat Smaller snake than other Purple glossed species

Other Names: Oostelike persglansslang, Oostelike purpergrondslang Habitat: Rocky thornveld.



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Reproduction: Oviparous Description: This is the smallest of the species. Two subspecies exist and both occur in the course area. They generally reach an adult length of approximately 25-30cm and the 4th upper labial is the largest of the 6 upper labials. The Internasal and prefrontal scales are fused, which is unique to this species. Diet is similar except they will also take legless skinks. Differentiating between the sub-species is relatively easy. Amblyodipsas micropthalma micropthalma has a yellow to white belly colouration while Amblyodipsas micropthalma nigra has a black belly. There are also scale count differences. The two sub-species also differ slightly in preferred habitat. Amblyodipsas micropthalma nigra prefers more rocky areas and is normally near to the surface, whereas Amblyodipsas micropthalma micropthalma is normally deeper in sandy soils. Both subspecies occur in rocky thornveld, while Amblyodipsas micropthalma micropthalma also occurs along the coast of Mozambique. Distribution:

Distribution of the Eastern Purple-glossed Snake



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Transvaal Quill-snouted Snake Xenocalamus transvaalensis

Characteristics:

Small slender-bodied Pointed, long head shape Yellow and black speckled upper body

Other Names: Transvaalse spitsneusslang, Transvaalse skerpneusslang Habitat: Alluvial sandy areas in its region Reproduction: Oviparous - 2 eggs. Description: This is the smaller of the two species, reaching an average length of around 35cm. The nostril is situated in the middle of the nasal scale, with 5 upper and lower labials. What appears to be the preocular is actually the prefrontal. The frontal scale is unusually large, causing the shift in the prefrontal and the supraocular is small. This species is listed as rare in the South African Red Data Book. This has almost been entirely caused by farming destroying their habitat and killing them while ploughing. It is usually dark brown or black in colour. The scales may have a lighter patch to the centre of the scale giving this species a speckled appearance. The ventral scales are white or yellow and blotches of black may be present. The white colouration may extend nominally onto the side of the body.



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Distribution:

Distribution of the Transvaal Quill-snouted Snake



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Bi-coloured Quill-snouted Snake and Subspecies Xenocalamus bicolor spp

Characteristics:

Small eyes Striped colourations Slender bodied with long pointed head shape



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Other Names: Tweekleurspitsneusslang, Tweekeurskerpneusslang Habitat: Alluvial sandy areas in its region Reproduction: Oviparous - 3-4 eggs Description: It is the larger of the two species and generally prefers drier areas, even extending into desert regions. It also feeds exclusively on worm lizards and lives deep underground. The upper jaw of this species is more ‘hooked’ than the Transvaal Quill-snouted Snake. Another significant difference is that the nostril is typical, coming between the pre and postnasal scales. The typical subspecies occurs in the following phases: 1. Striped phase - Top is black, sides off-white to yellow, and ventral scales are off-

white. 2. Reticulated - Usually dark brown to black and each scale pale edged. Ventral

scales are still off-white. 3. Spotted - Whitish belly with yellow upper body. Black or dark brown spots (2 rows)

along the body. 4. Melanistic Phase - the entire body is black. Sub-Species: 1. (Xenocalamus bicolour bicolour) - Bi-coloured Quill-snouted Snake. Six upper

labials, all colour variations mentioned, widest distribution 2. (Xenocalamus bicolour lineatus) - Striped Quill-snouted Snake. Six upper labials,

striped phase only, restricted range to Eastern Extent of Mpumalanga. 3. (Xenocalamus bicolour australis) - Waterberg Quill-snouted Snake. Five upper

labials, striped phase, restricted to the Waterberg.



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Distribution:

Distribution of the Subspecies of the Bi-coloured Quill-snouted Snake

burrowing snakes - wildlifecampus...and experienced snake handlers use to pin the snake involved...

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