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| Dasypeltis gansi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Dasypeltis |
| Species: | D. gansi |
| Binomial name | |
| Dasypeltis gansi | |
Dasypeltis gansi, commonly known as Gans's egg-eater or Gans' egg-eating snake, is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to West Africa.
Etymology
[edit]The specific name, gansi, is in honor of American herpetologist Carl Gans.[2]
Geographic range
[edit]D. gansi is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, the Republic of South Sudan, Senegal, Sudan, and Togo.[3]
Habitat
[edit]The preferred natural habitat of D. gansi is savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft).[1]
Description
[edit]Females of D. gansi may attain a total length (including tail) of about 92 cm (36 in) with the longest recorded specimen being 110.6 cm (43.5 in) long (including tail).[4] Males are smaller, and may attain a total length of about 70 cm (28 in). Dorsal coloration is almost uniformly beige.[3]
Behavior
[edit]D. gansi is terrestrial and partly arboreal.[1][3]
Diet
[edit]The diet of D. gansi consists entirely of birds' eggs.[1] They are capable of swallowing eggs 3-4 times larger than their head, possibly the largest gape of all snake species.[5]
Reproduction
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Segniagbeto, G.; Trape, J.-F. (2021). "Dasypeltis gansi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021 e.T13265104A13265109. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T13265104A13265109.en. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Dasypeltis gansi, p. 97).
- 1 2 3 4 Species Dasypeltis gansi at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ Bates, Michael; Ineich, Ivan. "A new size record for the West African egg-eating snake Dasypeltis gansi Trape & Mané, 2006, with new distribution records". Research gate. African Journal of Herpetology. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
- ↑ Jayne, Bruce. "Scaling relationships of maximal gape and prey size of snakes for an egg‐eating specialist (Dasypeltis gansi) and a dietary generalist (Pantherophis obsoletus)". Research gate. Journal of Zoology. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
Further reading
[edit]- Bates MF, Trape J-F, Spawls S (2013). "Geographical distributions: Dasypeltis gansi Trape & Mané, 2006, Gans' Egg-eater". African Herp News (60): 30–32.
- Göthel, Helmut (2015): "Die Pazifisten unter den Schlangen – Afrikanische Eierschlangen der Gattung Dasypeltis". Draco 16 (61): 6–21. (in German).
- Trape J-F, Mané Y (2006). "Le genre Dasypeltis Wagler (Serpentes: Colubridae) en Afrique de l'Ouest: description de trois espèces et d'une sous-espèce nouvelles ". Bulletin de la Société Herpétologique de France 119: 27–56. (Dasypeltis gansi, new species). (in French).
- Wallach V, Williams KL, Boundy J (2014). Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. xxviii + 1,209 pp. ISBN 978-1-4822-0847-4. (Dasypeltis gansi, p. 210).
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