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Atractaspis engaddensis

January 01, 1970

Atractaspis engaddensis, also known as the Israeli Mole Viper[3][4][5][6] or "الأسود الخبيث" (in Arabic, pronounced "al'aswad alkhabith") or "שרף עין גדי" and "צפעון שחור"[7] (in Hebrew, pronounced "Saraf Ein Gedi" and "Tzifon Shachor") is a venomous snake found in Egypt (Sinai Peninsula), Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.[1] The specific epithet references the type locality, Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea.[8]

Atractaspis engaddensis
Atractaspis engaddensis
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Atractaspididae
Genus: Atractaspis
Species:
A. engaddensis
Binomial name
Atractaspis engaddensis
Haas, 1950[2]

Description edit

It is an extremely venomous and a dangerous snake native to the Middle East. Its body is usually dark black in color and it has small eyes with round pupils. The head and the tail are short and pointy which makes it harder even for veterans to distinguish head from tail. Its approximate size is 60–80 cm. As a defense it rolls with its tail up and its head hidden under its body.

This snake is active mainly at night, and is found in arid or semi-arid desert areas. It dwells in underground burrows (hence the name "mole viper" or "burrowing asp"), is found under rocks, and is seen basking on roads on warm nights. Although its main habitat is in the desert, it is found in desert oases, around streams and springs rich in vegetation, and apparently it needs this moisture. Sometimes it enters human settlements.

The mating of this snake occurs in the months of July-August, this late period of mating relative to other snakes may indicate its tropical origin. From the end of September until November, 2-3 eggs, about 75 millimeters long, are laid in a humid environment that is essential for the development of the embryos. The elongated eggs are large relative to the dimensions of the black viper and relative to snakes in general. The young hatch after about 3 months when they are equipped with a venom system like their parents.[9]

Feeding edit

They prefer hatchling snakes but they can also eat lizards and small mammals like young rodents.[9]

Venom and biting mechanism edit

"Three isotoxins, named sarafotoxins S6a1, S6b and S6c, with strong cardiotoxic activity were isolated from the venom of this snake. All three sarafotoxins are homologous peptides (four or less than four residue replacements) consisting of 21 amino acid residues. Their structure and activity are novel among snake venom components."[10] "The venom has a very high lethal potency, with an i.v. LD50 of 0.06-0.075 micrograms per g body weight in mice. The action of the venom is rapid and death results from seemingly neurotoxic effects. However, even at high concentrations, the venom does not block contractions of skeletal muscles that are directly or indirectly stimulated. The most prominent action of the venom is seen in the function of the heart in anesthetized mice, with or without artificial respiration. The changes observed in the ECG are similar to those recorded in human victims and are the result of an A-V block that is caused by an apparent direct action of the venom on the heart."[11]

There is currently no available antivenom for Atractaspis engaddensis.[12]

This snake's fangs are able to be directed outside of its mouth, granting it the ability to side stab with a closed mouth. This makes capturing this snake particularly dangerous because it can unexpectedly bite sideways even when it is captured by the head to lock its mouth. This happened to the zoologist Heinrich Mendelssohn when he first discovered this species and captured a snake of this species in 1944.[13]

This snake has relatively little interaction with humans because it dwells mostly in desert areas and under the ground. It is also relatively non-aggressive and slow to react even when bothered. Therefore cases of humans being bitten by this snake are relatively rare. Also, despite its strong venom, and the lack of an antivenom for it, in most cases people survive this snake's bite with little or no long term damages.[13] Even little children can survive a bite with a proper treatment.[14] This is due to the fact that its fangs cannot penetrate very deep beyond the skin. As a result of all these factors, cases of fatal bites of this snake are very rare. There were only 2-3 recorded fatal cases since its discovery in 1950.[15][13] The latest death happened on 2002 when a man tried to capture a snake near his house on the border of the Judean Desert.[16]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Amr, Z.S.S.; Al Johany, A.M.H.; Baha El Din, S.; Disi, A.M.; Werner, Y.L. (2012). "Atractaspis engaddensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T183147A1729605. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T183147A1729605.en. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. ^ Haas, G (1950). "A New Atractaspis (Mole Viper) from Palestine". Copeia. 1950 (15): 52–53. doi:10.2307/1437584. JSTOR 1437584.
  3. ^ "Atractaspis engaddensis". NCBI Taxonomy Browser.
  4. ^ "ITIS - Report: Atractaspis engaddensis". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  5. ^ "ADW: Atractaspis engaddensis: CLASSIFICATION". animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  6. ^ "Atractaspis engaddensis Haas, 1950". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  7. ^ "צִפְעוֹן שָׁחֹור". The Academy for the Hebrew Language. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  8. ^ "Palestinian Mole Viper Snake Bite". DoveMed. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  9. ^ a b Encyclopedia of the Flora and Fauna of Israel (1985), Volume 5 - "Amphibians and Reptiles", pp. 156-157.
  10. ^ Takasaki, Chikahisa; Tamiya, Nobuo; Bdolah, Avner; Wollberg, Zvi; Kochva, Elazar (1988). "Sarafotoxins S6: Several isotoxins from Atractaspis engaddensis (Burrowing asp) venom that affect the heart". Toxicon. 26 (6): 543–548. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(88)90234-6. PMID 3176048.
  11. ^ Weiser, E.; Wollberg, Z.; Kochva, E.; Lee, S.Y. (1984). "Cardiotoxic effects of the venom of the burrowing asp, Atractaspis engaddensis (Atractaspididae, Ophidia)". Toxicon. 22 (5): 767–774. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(84)90159-4. PMID 6523505.
  12. ^ Gross, Itai; Maree, Aus; Rekhtman, David; Mujahed, Waseem; Hashavya, Saar; Assaf, Jacob (2023-06-19). "Clinical Characteristics and Management of Snake Bite Injuries in the Jerusalem Area". Journal of Clinical Medicine. 12 (12): 4132.
  13. ^ a b c Chaimovitz, Guy (2022-05-14). "Keep your distance: The most venomous snake in Israel". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  14. ^ Reuven, Yifat (2019-08-22). "A 3 years old bitten by the deadliest snake in the country - Her life saved in Hadassa". Kol-Hair Jerusalem (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  15. ^ Aviad Bar, Guy Chaimovitz and Amir Arnon (2022), Reptiles and Amphibians in Israel - Field Guide (in Hebrew), pp. 218-220
  16. ^ Sofer, Gili (2002). "Careful, snakes". Ynet (in Hebrew).

External links edit

  •   Media related to Atractaspis engaddensis at Wikimedia Commons

January 01, 1970
atractaspis, engaddensis, also, known, israeli, mole, viper, الأسود, الخبيث, arabic, pronounced, aswad, alkhabith, שרף, עין, גדי, צפעון, שחור, hebrew, pronounced, saraf, gedi, tzifon, shachor, venomous, snake, found, egypt, sinai, peninsula, palestine, israel,. Atractaspis engaddensis also known as the Israeli Mole Viper 3 4 5 6 or الأسود الخبيث in Arabic pronounced al aswad alkhabith or שרף עין גדי and צפעון שחור 7 in Hebrew pronounced Saraf Ein Gedi and Tzifon Shachor is a venomous snake found in Egypt Sinai Peninsula Palestine Israel Jordan and Saudi Arabia 1 The specific epithet references the type locality Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea 8 Atractaspis engaddensis Atractaspis engaddensis Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Order Squamata Suborder Serpentes Family Atractaspididae Genus Atractaspis Species A engaddensis Binomial name Atractaspis engaddensisHaas 1950 2 Contents 1 Description 2 Feeding 3 Venom and biting mechanism 4 References 5 External linksDescription editIt is an extremely venomous and a dangerous snake native to the Middle East Its body is usually dark black in color and it has small eyes with round pupils The head and the tail are short and pointy which makes it harder even for veterans to distinguish head from tail Its approximate size is 60 80 cm As a defense it rolls with its tail up and its head hidden under its body This snake is active mainly at night and is found in arid or semi arid desert areas It dwells in underground burrows hence the name mole viper or burrowing asp is found under rocks and is seen basking on roads on warm nights Although its main habitat is in the desert it is found in desert oases around streams and springs rich in vegetation and apparently it needs this moisture Sometimes it enters human settlements The mating of this snake occurs in the months of July August this late period of mating relative to other snakes may indicate its tropical origin From the end of September until November 2 3 eggs about 75 millimeters long are laid in a humid environment that is essential for the development of the embryos The elongated eggs are large relative to the dimensions of the black viper and relative to snakes in general The young hatch after about 3 months when they are equipped with a venom system like their parents 9 Feeding editThey prefer hatchling snakes but they can also eat lizards and small mammals like young rodents 9 Venom and biting mechanism edit Three isotoxins named sarafotoxins S6a1 S6b and S6c with strong cardiotoxic activity were isolated from the venom of this snake All three sarafotoxins are homologous peptides four or less than four residue replacements consisting of 21 amino acid residues Their structure and activity are novel among snake venom components 10 The venom has a very high lethal potency with an i v LD50 of 0 06 0 075 micrograms per g body weight in mice The action of the venom is rapid and death results from seemingly neurotoxic effects However even at high concentrations the venom does not block contractions of skeletal muscles that are directly or indirectly stimulated The most prominent action of the venom is seen in the function of the heart in anesthetized mice with or without artificial respiration The changes observed in the ECG are similar to those recorded in human victims and are the result of an A V block that is caused by an apparent direct action of the venom on the heart 11 There is currently no available antivenom for Atractaspis engaddensis 12 This snake s fangs are able to be directed outside of its mouth granting it the ability to side stab with a closed mouth This makes capturing this snake particularly dangerous because it can unexpectedly bite sideways even when it is captured by the head to lock its mouth This happened to the zoologist Heinrich Mendelssohn when he first discovered this species and captured a snake of this species in 1944 13 This snake has relatively little interaction with humans because it dwells mostly in desert areas and under the ground It is also relatively non aggressive and slow to react even when bothered Therefore cases of humans being bitten by this snake are relatively rare Also despite its strong venom and the lack of an antivenom for it in most cases people survive this snake s bite with little or no long term damages 13 Even little children can survive a bite with a proper treatment 14 This is due to the fact that its fangs cannot penetrate very deep beyond the skin As a result of all these factors cases of fatal bites of this snake are very rare There were only 2 3 recorded fatal cases since its discovery in 1950 15 13 The latest death happened on 2002 when a man tried to capture a snake near his house on the border of the Judean Desert 16 References edit a b Amr Z S S Al Johany A M H Baha El Din S Disi A M Werner Y L 2012 Atractaspis engaddensis IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012 e T183147A1729605 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2012 RLTS T183147A1729605 en Retrieved 21 February 2022 Haas G 1950 A New Atractaspis Mole Viper from Palestine Copeia 1950 15 52 53 doi 10 2307 1437584 JSTOR 1437584 Atractaspis engaddensis NCBI Taxonomy Browser ITIS Report Atractaspis engaddensis www itis gov Retrieved 2024 02 28 ADW Atractaspis engaddensis CLASSIFICATION animaldiversity org Retrieved 2024 02 28 Atractaspis engaddensis Haas 1950 www gbif org Retrieved 2024 02 28 צ פ עו ן ש ח ור The Academy for the Hebrew Language Retrieved 2024 02 28 Palestinian Mole Viper Snake Bite DoveMed Retrieved 2023 11 27 a b Encyclopedia of the Flora and Fauna of Israel 1985 Volume 5 Amphibians and Reptiles pp 156 157 Takasaki Chikahisa Tamiya Nobuo Bdolah Avner Wollberg Zvi Kochva Elazar 1988 Sarafotoxins S6 Several isotoxins from Atractaspis engaddensis Burrowing asp venom that affect the heart Toxicon 26 6 543 548 doi 10 1016 0041 0101 88 90234 6 PMID 3176048 Weiser E Wollberg Z Kochva E Lee S Y 1984 Cardiotoxic effects of the venom of the burrowing asp Atractaspis engaddensis Atractaspididae Ophidia Toxicon 22 5 767 774 doi 10 1016 0041 0101 84 90159 4 PMID 6523505 Gross Itai Maree Aus Rekhtman David Mujahed Waseem Hashavya Saar Assaf Jacob 2023 06 19 Clinical Characteristics and Management of Snake Bite Injuries in the Jerusalem Area Journal of Clinical Medicine 12 12 4132 a b c Chaimovitz Guy 2022 05 14 Keep your distance The most venomous snake in Israel Ynet in Hebrew Retrieved 2024 02 28 Reuven Yifat 2019 08 22 A 3 years old bitten by the deadliest snake in the country Her life saved in Hadassa Kol Hair Jerusalem in Hebrew Retrieved 2024 02 28 Aviad Bar Guy Chaimovitz and Amir Arnon 2022 Reptiles and Amphibians in Israel Field Guide in Hebrew pp 218 220 Sofer Gili 2002 Careful snakes Ynet in Hebrew External links edit nbsp Media related to Atractaspis engaddensis at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Atractaspis engaddensis amp oldid 1222150539, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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