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Causus maculatus (HALLOWELL, 1842)

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Spotted Night Adder, West-African Night Adder 
SynonymDistichurus maculatus HALLOWELL 1842: 337
Causus rhombeatus — PAPENFUSS 1969
Causus maculatus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 232
Causus maculatus — RÖDEL & MAHSBERG 2000
Causus maculatus — LARGEN & SPAWLS 2010: 607
Causus maculatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 151
Causus maculatus — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 572
Causus maculatus — SENTER & CHIPPAUX 2022 
DistributionMauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, W Ethiopia, Uganda, S Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire; except in the east), Congo (Brazzaville), Ghana, Togo, Benin, Guinea (Conakry), Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea

Type locality: Liberia  
Reproductionoviparous. This is one of the few vipers that is egg-laying. 
TypesHolotype: ANSP 6897, according to Malnate, 1971 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2419 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous! Second most common cause for snake-bite mortality in Senegal (Trape et al. 2001)

Diet: Causus maculatus feeds exclusively on amphibians, at least in 486 specimens examined in Senegal, fide Mané & Trape 2019.

Distribution: For a map with localities in Equatorial Guinea see SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS et al. 2022. 
References
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  • Böhme, Wolfgang, Mark-Oliver Rödel, Christian Brede & Philipp Wagner 2011. The reptiles (Testudines, Squamata, Crocodylia) of the forested southeast of the Republic Guinea (Guinée forestière), with a country-wide checklist. Bonn zoological Bulletin 60 (1): 35-61 - get paper here
  • Cayuela, Hugo; Godfrey C Akani, Emmanuel M Hema, Edem A Eniang, Nioking Amadi, Stephanie N Ajong, Daniele Dendi, Fabio Petrozzi, Luca Luiselli 2019. Life history and age-dependent mortality processes in tropical reptiles. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 128, Issue 2, October 2019, Pages 251–262, - get paper here
  • Chifundera, K. 1990. Snakes of Zaire and their bites. Afr. Stud. Monogr. (Kyoto) 10(3): 137-157.
  • Chippaux, Jean-Philippe & Kate Jackson 2019. Snakes of Central and Western Africa. Johns Hopkins University Press, 448 pp. [detaileld review in HR 51 (1): 161] - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. 2009. Inventaire des reptiles de la région de la Réserve de Biosphère Transfrontalière du W (Niger/Bénin/Burkina Faso: Afrique de l’Ouest). [Herpetological survey of the W Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve area (Niger/Benin/Burkina Faso: West Africa]. Bull. Soc. Herp. France (132): 13-41 - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Gonwouo, Nono LeGrand; Tchassem Fonkwa Arnaud Marius, Doherty-Bone Thomas, Rödel Mark-Oliver 2021. Amphibian and reptiles of a proposed iron ore mining concession in southern Cameroon. Herpetology Notes 14: 1051-1065
  • Hallowell, E. 1842. Description of a new genus of Serpents from Western Africa. J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philadelph. 8: 336-338 - get paper here
  • Hughes, B. 1977. Latitudinal clines and ecogeography of the West African Night Adder, Causus maculatus (Hallowell, 1842), Serpentes, Viperidae. Bull. IFAN. 39 (sér. A., no. 2): 358-384
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  • Mallow, D. Ludwig, D. & Nilson, G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger, Malabar, Florida, 410 pp. [review in HR 35: 200, Reptilia 35: 74]
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  • Pauwels OSG, Morelle S, Albert J-L, Carlino P, Rahola N, Trape J-F. 2019. New reptile records from Lékédi Park and Haut-Ogooué Province, southeastern Gabon. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1) [General Section]: 143–161 (e174) - get paper here
  • Pauwels, O. S., & Colyn, M. 2023. On a Collection of Snakes from Bengamisa, Right Bank of the Congo River, Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society, 58(6), 81-92
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  • PAUWELS, OLIVIER; LAURENT CHIRIO & WOUTER DEKONINCK. 2022. Diet records for snakes from Guinea, West Africa. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 57(6): 117–123. - get paper here
  • Phelps, T. 2010. Old World Vipers. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 558 pp. [critical review in Sauria 33 (3): 19 and HR 43: 503]
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  • SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS, A., CALVO-REVUELTA, M. & DE LA RIVA, I. 2022. Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea. Zootaxa 5202 (1): 1-197 - get paper here
  • Segniagbeto GLazcano. H., Trape J. F., David P., Ohler A., Dubois A. & Glitho I. A. 2011. The snake fauna of Togo: systematics, distribution and biogeography, with remarks on selected taxonomic problems. Zoosystema 33 (3): 325-360. DOI: 10.5252/z2011n3a4 - get paper here
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  • Trape, J.-F. & Mané, Y. 2004. Les serpents des environs de Bandafassi (Sénégal oriental). Bull. Soc. Herp. France 109: 5-34 - get paper here
  • Trape, J.-F. & Mané, Y. 2006. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale. Savane et désert. [Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger]. IRD Editions, Paris, 226 pp. - get paper here
  • Trape, J.-F. et al. 2001. High mortality from snakebite in south-eastern Senegal. Trans. Roy. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 95: 420-423 - get paper here
  • Trape, J.F. & R. ROUX-ESTÈVE 1995. Les serpents du Congo: liste commentée et clé de détermination. Journal of African Zoology 109 (1): 31-50
  • TRAPE, JEAN-FRANÇOIS & CELLOU BALDÉ 2014. A checklist of the snake fauna of Guinea, with taxonomic changes in the genera Philothamnus and Dipsadoboa (Colubridae) and a comparison with the snake fauna of some other West African countries. Zootaxa 3900 (3): 301–338 - get paper here
  • Trape, Jean-François; Israël Demba Kodindo, Ali Sougoudi Djiddi, Joseph Mad-Toïngué & Clément Hinzoumbé Kerah 2020. The snakes of Chad: results of a field survey and annotated country-wide checklist. Bonn zoological Bulletin 69 (2): 367–393 - get paper here
  • Trape, Jean-François; Mané, Youssouph 2000. Les serpents des environs de Dielmo (Sine-Saloum, Sénégal). Bull. Soc. Herp. France 95: 19-35 - get paper here
  • Trape, Jean-François & Youssouph Mané 2017. The snakes of Mali. Bonn zoological Bulletin 66 (2): 107–133 - get paper here
  • Ullenbruch, K.; Grell, O.; Böhme, W. 2010. Reptiles from southern Benin, West Africa, with the description of a new Hemidactylus (Gekkonidae), and a country-wide checklist. Bonn Zool. Bull. 57 (1): 31-54 - get paper here
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  • Zassi-Boulou, Ange Ghislain; Joseph Goma Tchimbakala, Lise Bethy Mavoungou, and Kate Jackson 2020. A Survey of Snakes in the Patte d’Oie Forest Reserve (Brazzaville, Republic of Congo): an Urban Snake Community in Central Africa. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 15 (1): - get paper here
 
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