Echis ocellatus

Echis ocellatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Viperinae
Genus: Echis
Species: E. ocellatus
Binomial name
Echis ocellatus
Stemmler, 1970
Synonyms
  • Echis carinatus ocellatus Stemmler, 1970
  • Echis ocellatus
    Hughes, 1976
  • Echis [(Toxicoa)] ocellatus
    Cherlin, 1990[1]
Common names: West African carpet viper,[2][3] ocellated carpet viper.[4]

Echis ocellatus is a venomous viper species endemic to West Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5]

It is responsible for more human fatalities due to snakebite than all other African species combined.[6]

Etymology

The specific name, ocellatus, is a reference to the distinctive series of "eye-spots" (ocelli) which runs the length of the body.[3]

Description

The maximum total length (body + tail) is 65 cm (26 in), possibly more, while the average total length is 30–50 cm (12–20 in).[3]

Geographic range

It is found in West Africa from Mauritania, Senegal and Guinea, through, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, southern Niger, and Nigeria. It is also found in northern Cameroon and southwestern Chad.

The type locality is described as "Haute Volta, Garango, 048 N, 033 W" (Burkina Faso).[1]

There are also reports of single specimens found in the Bangui in the Central African Republic, and in central Sudan. It is rarely found north of the 15th parallel, after which E. leucogaster becomes more common. The geographic range of E. ocellatus extends to the coast via the Dahomey Gap.[3]

Reproduction

Sexually mature females lay between 6 and 20 eggs, usually at the end of the dry season in February to March. Hatchlings are 10–12 cm (3.9–4.7 in) in total length.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Dubai: Ralph Curtis Books. Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
  4. Echis ocellatus at Munich AntiVenom INdex (MAVIN). Accessed 3 August 2007.
  5. "Echis ocellatus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2 August 2006.
  6. JERRY G. WALLS, The World's Deadliest Snakes, Reptiles (magazine)

Further reading

External links

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