TAXONOMY, NATURAL HISTORY, AND ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN SHIELD COBRAS, GENUS ASPIDELAPS (SERPENTES: ELAPIDAE)

Abstract

The southern African elapid genus Aspidelaps remains poorly understood in most aspects of its biol- ogy. The available information is sparse and often only published via anecdotal notes in obscure journals or out-of-print books. The review presented here is not comprehensive in respect to many historical herpetologi- cal surveys of the southern African region, but we here provide a compilation of updated taxonomic, ecologi- cal, behavioral, zoogeographical, and toxicological information, including notes on captive husbandry.