Egg-eating Snake

About the Egg-eating Snake

Dasypeltis scabra, also known commonly as the common egg eater, the egg-eating snake, and the rhombic egg eater, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Africa. D. scabra is found in sub-Saharan Africa.

D. scabra grows to a total length (tail included) of 40–46 inches (100–120 cm), and has almost toothless jaws. Dorsally, it has a series of rhomboidal dark brown spots on a lighter background. There is an alternating series of brown spots on each side and a distinct V-shaped mark at the back of the neck. Ventrally it is yellowish, either uniform or with dark dots.

It has been suggested that non-venomous D. scabra is a mimic of venomous Echis carinatus, the saw-scaled viper, which it strongly resembles. Typical specimens of D. scabra even more closely resemble Causus rhombeatus, the rhombic night adder. The colouration of E. carinatus generally tends to be more reddish and brown, instead of shades of grey and black; and the V-shaped mark on its head is more patchy than in the other two species.

C. rhombeatus is not as slim as D. scabra, and its dorsal scales, unusual among viperids, are at most... Wikipedia →