Posts tagged africa
Saw Scaled Viper snake
Saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus Description: Color is light buff with shades of brown, dull red, or gray. Its sides have a white or light-colored pattern. Its head usually has two dark stripes that start behind the eye and extend to the rear. Characteristics: A small but extremely dangerous viper. It gets the name saw-scaled from…
Sand Viper snake
Sand viper Cerastes vipera Description: Usually uniformly very pallid, with three rows of darker brown spots. Characteristics: A very small desert dweller that can bury itself in the sand during the day’s heat. It is nocturnal, coming out at night to feed on lizards and small desert rodents. It has a short temper and will…
Rhinoceros Viper or River Jack Snake
Rhinoceros viper or river jack Bitis nasicornis Description: Brightly colored with purplish to reddish-brown markings and black and light olive markings along the back. On its head it has a triangular marking that starts at the tip of the nose. It has a pair of long horns (scales) on the tip of its nose. Characteristics:…
Puff adder snake
Puff adder Bitis arietans Description: Yellowish, light brown, or orange with chevron-shaped dark brown or black bars. Characteristics: The puff adder is the second largest of the dangerous vipers. It is one of the most common snakes in Africa. It is largely nocturnal, hunting at night and seeking shelter during the day’s heat. It is…
Mole viper or burrowing viper
Mole viper or burrowing viper Atracaspis microlepidota Description: Uniformly black or dark brown with a small, narrow head. Characteristics: A viper that does not look like one. It is small in size, and its small head does not indicate the presence of venom glands. It has a rather inoffensive disposition; however, it will quickly turn…
Green mamba
Green mamba Dendraspis angusticeps Description: Most mambas are uniformly bright green over their entire body. The black mamba, the largest of the species, is uniformly olive to black. Characteristics: The mamba is the most dreaded snake species of Africa. Treat it with great respect. It is considered one of the most dangerous snakes known. Not…
Gaboon viper
Gaboon viper Bitis gabonica Description: Pink to brown with a vertebral series of elongated yellowish or light brown spots connected by hourglass-shaped markings on each side. It has a dark brown stripe behind each eye. This dangerous viper is almost invisible on the forest floor. A 1.8-meter-long (6-foot-long) Gaboon viper could weigh 16 kilograms (35…
Habu Pit Viper
Habu Pit Viper Naja haje Description: Yellowish, dark brown, or black uniform top with brown cross-bands. Its head is sometimes black. Characteristics: It is extremely dangerous. It is responsible for many human deaths. Once aroused or threatened, it will attack and continue the attack until it feels an escape is possible. Its venom is neurotoxic…
Bush viper
Bush viper Atheris squamiger Description: Often called leaf viper, its color varies from ground colors of pale green to olive, brown, or rusty brown. The viper uses its prehensile tail to secure itself to branches. Characteristics: An arboreal species that often comes down to the ground to feed on small rodents. It is not aggressive,…
Boomslang
Boomslang Dispholidus typus Description: Coloration varies but is generally green or brown, which makes it very hard to see in its habitat. Characteristics: Will strike if molested. Its venom is hemotoxic; even small amounts cause severe hemorrhaging, making it dangerous to man. Habitat: Found in forested areas. It will spend most of its time in…

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