Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Serpentes Scientific name Echis ocellatus Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Squamata Family Viperidae Higher classification Echis | |
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Similar Echis, Snake, Vipers, Echis pyramidum, Echis leucogaster | ||
Echis ocellatus is a venomous viper species endemic to West Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.
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It is responsible for more human fatalities due to snakebite than all other African species combined. An antivenom called Echitab-plus-ICP is manufactured by the Costa Rican Instituto Clodomiro Picado.
Etymology
The specific name, ocellatus, is a reference to the distinctive series of "eye-spots" (ocelli) which runs the length of the body.
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).
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).
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.
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.