Atractaspis branchi
{{short description|Species of snake.}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Atractaspis branchi (10.3897-zse.95.31488) Figure 1.jpg
| genus = Atractaspis
| species = branchi
| authority = Rödel et al., 2019
}}
Atractaspis branchi, known commonly as Branch's stiletto snake, is a species of fossorial, venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae.{{cite journal|first1=Mark-Oliver|last1=Rödel|authorlink1=:fr:Mark-Oliver Rödel|first2=Christoph|last2=Kucharzewski|first3=Kristin|last3=Mahlow|first4=Laurent|last4=Chirio|first5=Olivier|last5=Pauwels|authorlink5=:fr:Olivier Sylvain Gérard Pauwels|first6=Piero|last6=Carlino|first7=Gordon|last7=Sambolah|first8=Julian|last8=Glos|title=A new stiletto snake (Lamprophiidae, Atractaspidinae, Atractaspis) from Liberia and Guinea, West Africa|journal=Zoosystematics and Evolution|date=2019|volume=951|issue=107|pages=107–123 |doi=10.3897/zse.95.31488|doi-access=free}} (Atractaspis branchi, new species).{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190311081931.htm|title=New species of stiletto snake capable of sideways strikes discovered in West Africa|publisher=sciencedaily|date=2019-03-11|accessdate=2019-03-13}} The species is endemic to West Africa.
Etymology
The specific name branchi is to honor South African herpetologist William Roy (Bill) Branch, a world-leading expert on African reptiles.{{EMBL species|genus=Atractaspis|species=branchi}}. www.reptile-database.org.
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.{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/snake-stab-sideways-fangs-mouth-1360202|title=SNAKE THAT CAN STAB SIDEWAYS WITH FANGS STICKING OUT CORNER OF ITS MOUTH DISCOVERED|publisher=newsweek|date=2019-03-12|accessdate=2019-03-13}} A. branchi has morphological similarities to A. reticulata, but is distinguished by having 19 rows of dorsal scales at midbody.