''Dasypeltis scabra'', known as the common egg eater, egg-eating snake or rhombic egg eater, is a species of

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

in the family Colubridae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Geographic range

''Dasypeltis scabra'' is found in sub-Saharan Africa. It can also be found in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and in other countries of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Description

''D. scabra'' grows to a total length (including tail) of , and has almost toothless jaws.

Dorsally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

, it has a series of

rhomboidal Traditionally, in two-dimensional geometry, a rhomboid is a parallelogram in which adjacent sides are of unequal lengths and angles are non-right angled. A parallelogram with sides of equal length ( equilateral) is a rhombus but not a rhomboid. ...

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.

Mimicry

It has been suggested that non-venomous ''Dasypeltis scabra'' is a

mimic MIMIC, known in capitalized form only, is a former simulation computer language developed 1964 by H. E. Petersen, F. J. Sansom and L. M. Warshawsky of Systems Engineering Group within the Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson AFB in ...

of venomous ''

Echis carinatus ''Echis carinatus'', known as the saw-scaled viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Indian saw-scaled viper, little I ...

'', the saw-scaled viper, which it strongly resembles. ''D. scabra'' also closely resembles ''

Causus rhombeatus ''Causus rhombeatus'', commonly known as the rhombic night adder, is a viper species endemic to subsaharan Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized. Like all other vipers, it is venomous. Description With an average total length (body + ...

'', the rhombic night adder. These two species may be distinguished by the shape of the pupil of the eye. Snakes of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Dasypeltis'' have vertical pupils, whereas snakes of the genus ''

Causus ''Causus'' is a genus of vipers found only in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a group considered to be among the most primitive members of the family Viperidae based on head scalation, oviparity, venom apparatus, and because they have round pupils. Ho ...

'' have round pupils. However, it is possible in darker areas for the vertical eyes to become round, so this is not necessarily an accurate means of distinguishing the species.

Habitat

''Dasypeltis scabra'' can be found in a variety of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s. They are not found in closed-canopy

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s nor in true deserts, but do inhabit most ecosystems between these extremes.

Behavior

The rhombic egg eater is nocturnal. Although mainly

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

, it is a good climber and is known to scale rock outcroppings and climb trees to raid birds' nests.

Diet

''Dasypeltis scabra'' feeds exclusively on eggs. The lining of the mouth has small, parallel ridges, very similar to human fingerprints, which aid in grasping the shell of an egg. Once swallowed, the egg is punctured by specialized vertebral hypapophyses which extend into the esophagus. The shell is then regurgitated in one piece, and its contents passed along to the stomach.

Defense

When disturbed, ''D. scabra'' inflates itself, "hisses" by rapidly rubbing together the rough, keeled scales on the side of its body, and strikes with its mouth kept wide open.

Reproduction

''D. scabra'' is oviparous. In summer, a sexually mature female may lay one or two clutches of 6–25 eggs each. The eggs measure . Hatchlings are in total length. Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Dasypeltis scabra'', pp. 95-96 + Plate 15).

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized, including the

nominotypical subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

."''Dasypeltis scabra'' ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. *'' Dasypeltis scabra loveridgei'' Mertens, 1954 *'' Dasypeltis scabra scabra'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758) The

subspecific name In zoological nomenclature, a subspecific name is the third part of a trinomen. In zoology there is only one rank below that of species, namely "subspecies". In botanical nomenclature, there are several levels of subspecific names, such as ''var ...

, ''loveridgei'', is in honor of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...

Arthur Loveridge Arthur Loveridge (28 May 1891 – 16 February 1980) was a British biologist and herpetologist who wrote about animals in East Africa, particularly Tanzania, and New Guinea. He gave scientific names to several gecko species in the region. Arthu ...