Atractaspis branchi

Atractaspis branchi, known commonly as Branch's stiletto snake, is a species of fossorial, venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae.^[1][2] The species is endemic to West Africa.^[1]

Atractaspis branchi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Atractaspididae
Genus:	Atractaspis
Species:	A. branchi
Binomial name
Atractaspis branchi Rödel et al., 2019

Etymology

The specific name branchi is to honor South African herpetologist William Roy (Bill) Branch, a world-leading expert on African reptiles.^[3]

Description

The species A. branchi, like other species of its genus, is notable for its unusual skull, allowing it to stab sideways with a fang sticking out of the corner of its mouth.^[4] A. branchi has morphological similarities to A. reticulata, but is distinguished by having 19 rows of dorsal scales at midbody.^[1]

Habitat and geographic range

Atractaspis branchi lives in primary rainforest and rainforest edges in the western part of the Upper Guinea forests in Guinea and Liberia.^[1]