Small-scaled burrowing asp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Small-scaled burrowing asp |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Atractaspis
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| Species: |
microlepidota
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The small-scaled burrowing asp (Atractaspis microlepidota) is a type of snake found in West Africa. It belongs to a group of snakes called atractaspidids.
Contents
Where This Snake Lives
The small-scaled burrowing asp lives in parts of West Africa. You can find it in countries like Senegal, Gambia, southern Mauritania, and western Mali. Scientists used to think this snake lived in more places, but now they know it's found in these specific areas.
What It Looks Like
This snake is usually black. Its belly is a bit lighter and flatter than its back. The scales on its body are smooth. The snake has a flat head with a blunt snout, which is like its nose. Its neck isn't very clear, and its tail is quite short.
One cool thing about the small-scaled burrowing asp is that its head is covered in large plates, not small scales like some other snakes (like vipers). On average, these snakes are about 18 inches (45 cm) long. Some can grow up to 30 inches (75 cm)! This snake has more rows of scales on its back (from 29 to 37 rows) than any other snake in its group.
Snake Family Tree
Some people call snakes from the Atractaspis group "mole vipers" or "burrowing asps." People often mix them up with vipers. This is because their long, hollow fangs look a lot like a viper's fangs.
However, scientists now believe that the small-scaled burrowing asp is actually more closely related to snakes like colubrids and elapids. One big clue is their venom. The venom of the small-scaled burrowing asp is different from viper venom. It's more like the venom of elapid snakes. Even within the Atractaspis group, there are differences. The small-scaled burrowing asp has long venom glands, while another snake in the group, Atractaspis bibronii, has short ones.
How It Behaves
Snakes in the Atractaspis group have some unique behaviors. They love to burrow into the ground. Sometimes, they sit very still with their nose pointed down, as if they are ready to "leap" into the earth. But this behavior has only been seen a few times.
Scientists haven't studied the small-scaled burrowing asp very much in the wild, so we don't know a lot about what they eat. However, these snakes have been found with small rodents (like mice), birds, lizards, frogs, locusts, and white ants in their stomachs.
Venom and Bites
Most of what we know about the small-scaled burrowing asp comes from studying its venom. The venom is thick and looks a bit milky. These snakes have long, hollow fangs that can inject venom deep into their prey.
What's really interesting is how they use their fangs. They don't always have to open their mouths wide to bite. They often use just one fang to stab their prey! Scientists think this might be because they hunt underground where there isn't much space to move. So, they learned to bite without opening their mouths all the way. They come up next to their prey and stab it with one fang.
Unlike some other snakes that "strike" from a distance, the small-scaled burrowing asp doesn't do that. It gets close and stabs. They also use their fangs to move their prey around, making it easier to swallow. In one experiment, when given several mice, the snakes bit all the mice first before eating any of them. This might be a way to defend themselves against many adult prey animals.
The venom itself is interesting. When injected into animals, it caused some irritation and hyperactivity. For humans, a bite from a small-scaled burrowing asp is usually not deadly for adults. However, it can be very dangerous for young children. A bite might first cause pain, then numbness and swelling around the bite area. As mentioned, this snake's venom seems to be related to elapid venom, not viper venom, as once thought.
Reproduction
Like many other snakes, the small-scaled burrowing asp lays eggs. This means they are oviparous, and their eggs hatch outside the mother's body.
Snakes use their sense of smell a lot to find mates, as it's their strongest sense. Female snakes can release a special smell that tells males they are ready to mate. However, some snakes also use these smells to protect themselves, not just to attract mates. Male snakes seem to rely almost completely on smell to find a mate, much less on sight. This means that color probably doesn't play a big role in how they choose a partner. In fact, male snakes have even tried to mate with dead females, which shows how much they depend on smell!
It's rare for snakes to have many mates; males usually mate with only one female. But some scientists have suggested that female snakes might mate with more than one male. There are many different mating "dances" or rituals among snakes, but not much is known yet about the specific mating rituals of the small-scaled burrowing asp.
