West African sand rattle otter
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| West African sand rattle otter | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Echis ocellatus | ||||||||||||
| Stemmler , 1970 |
The West African sand rattle otter ( Echis ocellatus ), also West African eyespot sand rattle otter , is a species of vipers (Viperidae) that occurs exclusively in West Africa. Like other Echis species, it is a very dangerous snake for humans due to its way of life and choice of habitat near human dwellings as well as its very strong poison , which is responsible for more deaths than all other poisonous African snakes combined.
Origin of name
The species name ocellatus refers to the conspicuous series of "eye spots", the so-called ocelli , which run along the longitudinal axis of the body. The following taxonomic synonyms exist:
- Echis carinatus ocellatus - Stemmler, 1970
- Echis ocellatus - Hughes , 1976
- Echis [( Toxicoa )] ocellatus - Cherlin , 1990
Subspecies are not recognized.
description
The maximum published body length (trunk and tail together) is 65 centimeters, on average the animals are 30 to 50 centimeters long.
Distribution area
The species is found in West Africa , from Mauritania , Senegal and Guinea via Mali , the Ivory Coast , Burkina Faso , Ghana to Togo , Benin, the southern Republic of Niger and Nigeria . There are also deposits in northern Cameroon and southwestern Chad .
The type locality has been described as " Upper Volta , Garango, 048 N, 033 W" (today in Burkina Faso ).
There are also reports of individual specimens found in the area of Bangui ( Central African Republic ) and central Sudan . The species rarely appears north of the 15th parallel, from there E. leucogaster is more widespread. The distribution area of E. ocellatus reaches the coast via the Dahomey Gap .
An antidote ( Echitab-plus-ICP ) is available for use in bite accidents, manufactured by a Costa Rican company.
Multiplication
Sexually mature females lay between 6 and 20 eggs, usually at the end of the dry season between February and March. The hatchling young animals are 10 to 12 centimeters long.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jerry G. Walls: The World's Deadliest Snakes. In: Reptiles .
- ↑ a b c S. Spawls, B. Branch : The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books, 1995, ISBN 0-88359-029-8 .
- ^ A b R. W. McDiarmid, JA Campbell , T. Touré: Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Volume 1, Herpetologists' League, Washington DC 1999, ISBN 1-893777-01-4 .
- ↑ West African sand rattle otters in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
- ↑ echitabplusicp.org
literature
- VA Cherlin : A taxonomic revision of the snake genus Echis (Viperidae). II. An analysis of taxonomy and description of new forms. In: Proc. Zool. Inst. Leningrad. 207, 1990, pp. 193-223. (Russian)
- B. Hughes : Notes on African Carpet Vipers, Echis carinatus, E. leucogaster and E. ocellatus (Viperidae, Serpentes). In: Revue Suisse de Zoologie. 83 (2), 1976, pp. 359-371. (English)
- O. Stemmler : The sand rattle otter from West Africa: Echis carinatus ocellatus subsp. nov. (Serpentes, Viperidae). In: Revue Suisse de Zoologie. 77 (2), 1970, pp. 273-282.