Montaspis

Montaspis is a monotypic genus, meaning it contains just one described species, the Cream-spotted Mountain Snake (Montaspis gilvomaculata). It belongs to the family Lamprophiidae, a large and varied group of African and Madagascan snakes that includes house snakes, wolf snakes, and many other ground-dwelling forms. Within that family it sits among small to medium terrestrial snakes adapted to life on the ground rather than in trees or water. The genus was described relatively recently, in 1991, and remains one of the least-known snakes on the continent.

This species is found only in a small high-altitude area of the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where it lives in damp montane grassland near streams and seepage areas. It is a slender, dark snake, generally brown to blackish above with a pattern of pale cream spots or flecks that give it its common name, and a paler underside. As a ground-living lamprophiid it spends much of its time hidden under vegetation, rocks, and in moist cover, which is part of why so few specimens have ever been recorded.

Very little is documented about its diet, reproduction, and behavior because of how rarely it is encountered, but as a small terrestrial member of the lamprophiid radiation it is expected to feed on small prey such as frogs and other small animals found in its wet grassland habitat. Lamprophiids are generally not considered dangerous to people, and there is no evidence that this species poses a medical threat to humans. Even so, no wild snake should be handled, and any snakebite should be treated as a medical matter. In the United States contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, and elsewhere contact your local emergency services.