NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Israeli Mole Viper
Atractaspis engaddensis Haas, 1950
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Atractaspis engaddensis, also known as the Israeli mole viper or "أسود خبيث" (in Arabic, pronounced "Aswad Khabith") or "שרף עין גדי" and "צפעון שחור" (in Hebrew, pronounced "Saraf Ein Gedi" and "Tzifon Shachor") is a venomous snake found in Palestine Egypt (Sinai Peninsula), Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The specific epithet references the type locality, Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
Wikipedia contributors, Atractaspis engaddensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:14:30.982951+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Atractaspis engaddensis Haas, 1950
- Name authority
- Haas, 1950
- Common name
- Israeli Mole Viper
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Atractaspididae
- Genus
- Atractaspis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyAtractaspididae
- subfamilyAtractaspidinae
- genusAtractaspis
- speciesAtractaspis engaddensis Haas, 1950
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Atractaspis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Phillips’ Burrowing AspAtractaspis phillipsi Barbour, 1913 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Branch’s Stiletto SnakeAtractaspis branchi Rödel, Kucharzewski, Mahlow, Chirio, Pauwels, Carlino, Sambolah & Glos, 2019 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Arabian Small-Scaled Burrowing AspAtractaspis andersonii Boulenger, 1905 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bibron’s Stiletto SnakeAtractaspis bibronii Smith, 1849 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Congo Stiletto SnakeAtractaspis congica Peters, 1877 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mole ViperAtractaspis corpulenta (Hallowell, 1854) | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mole ViperAtractaspis engdahli Lönnberg & Andersson, 1913 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mole ViperAtractaspis leucomelas Boulenger, 1895 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Magretti’s Burrowing AspAtractaspis magrettii Scortecci, 1929 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| (Western) Small-Scaled Burrowing AspAtractaspis microlepidota Günther, 1866 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sahelian Burrowing AspAtractaspis micropholis Günther, 1872 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mole ViperAtractaspis reticulata Sjöstedt, 1896 | AtractaspididaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Atractaspis microlepidota engaddensis Leviton & Aldrich, 1984 Leviton & Aldrich, 1984 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Atractaspis&species=engaddensis Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:JJ46. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.