NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Watson’s Burrowing Asp
Atractaspis watsoni Boulenger, 1908
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 watsoni, Watson's burrowing asp is a species of snake from the Atractaspis genus native to West and Central Africa. The species was scientifically described by George Albert Boulenger in 1908. It lives in savannas and they were found up to 800 m (2,600 ft) in elevation.
Wikipedia contributors, Atractaspis watsoni; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:10:04.357968+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Atractaspis watsoni Boulenger, 1908
- Name authority
- Boulenger, 1908
- Common name
- Watson’s Burrowing Asp
- 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 watsoni Boulenger, 1908
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 |
| Israeli Mole ViperAtractaspis engaddensis Haas, 1950 | 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 |
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=watsoni 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:JJ54. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.