Causus bilineatus

The two strips Toad Viper ( Causus bilineatus ) is one of six species of toads vipers ( Causinae ) within the vipers ( Viperidae ).

Features

The two strips Toad Viper achieved an average total length of 30 to 50 centimeters, as the maximum length of 65 centimeters documented. The head is only slightly separated from the body, the muzzle is long and tapering to the tip.

The basic color is ash-gray to brown or maroon; the back shows many unevenly distributed, dark spots, which are otherwise partly oblong and irregular in shape. The mottling is located between two bright bands that run from the neck to tail over the body and are eponymous for the type. On the head there is a V-shaped dark markings whose tip lies on the frontal shield, also consider dark temple straps from the eye to muzzle angle. The belly is colored brown to dark brown.

The dorsal scales are weakly keeled, the middle of the body has 15 to 18 scale rows around the body. The scales have a soft and velvety looking surface, which gives the entire snake that impression. The ventral side is covered with the females 128-144 and the males 122-141 Ventralia, followed by the anal shield, and 18 to 30 Subcaudalia.

Distribution and habitat

The two strips Toad Viper is spread over parts of south-central Africa from the Democratic Republic of Congo into northern Namibia and eastern Angola. From Zambia two references from the Everglades are south before the Bangweulusees. As habitat preferred the snake especially wet or wooded savannah areas.

Way of life

Over the life of this kind is, as with all toads vipers relatively little known. It feeds mainly on frogs and toads, primarily of clawed frogs (Xenopus sp.), Which suggests that this type more aquatic lives than all other toads vipers. Like other toads vipers it is viviparous ( ovoviviparous ).

System

The two strips Toad Viper is one of six species of one genus within toads vipers ( Causinae ). These represent the next Primal vipers ( Azemiopinae ) with the Fea 's viper ( Azemiops feae ) as the only way and the species-rich pit vipers ( Crotalinae ) and Skipjack vipers ( Viperinae ) one of the subfamilies of vipers ( Viperidae ) dar.

Snake venom

On the poison of this type there are no scientific studies. Toads vipers generally have a relatively weak poison for humans, which is little used during prey capture. Despite the large poison glands hardly poison is injected into the prey, usually it drips in small amounts of the poison teeth. Bites in humans result in corresponding only to local swelling and pain, deaths caused by the bite of vipers, toads are not known.

Documents and further information

Cited sources

The information in this article originate mainly from Mallow et al. (2003), moreover, cited the following sources: