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Echis leucogaster ROMAN, 1972

IUCN Red List - Echis leucogaster - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Roman's Saw-scaled Viper 
SynonymEchis carinatus leucogaster ROMAN 1972
Echis leucogaster — ROMAN 1975
Echis arenicola leucogaster — CHERLIN & BORKIN 1990
Echis leucogaster — WELCH 1994: 57
Echis arenicola — SCHLEICH, KÄSTLE & KABISCH 1996: 540
Echis leucogaster — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 379
Echis leucogaster — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007
Echis leucogaster — POOK et al. 2009
Echis leucogaster — WALLACH et al. 2014: 255
Echis pyramidum leucogaster — MARTÍNEZ et al. 2019 
DistributionBurkina Faso, Mali, Niger, N Nigeria, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Senegal, Nigeria, Gambia, W Chad,
Morocco

Type locality: Boubon, 20 km of Niamey (Niger).  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: CVRS (RN 191 in Roman 1972 who also mentions CVRS = Centre Voltaique de la Recherche Scientifique, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (721 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: Some authors consider E. arenicola as valid species (U. Joger, pers. comm.). Echis leucogaster may be synonymous to E. pyramidum (U. Joger in MCDIARMID et al. 1999). Okuda et al. (2001) argue that protein sequence differences argues in favor of classifying leucogaster as valid species.

Distribution: Due to the confusion with E. pyramidum the ranges may overlap and misidentifications happened. Not in Algeria fide Rachid Rouag (pers. comm., 8 May 2024). Not in Benin fide ULLENBRUCH et al. 2010, but possibly Benin (Hughes 2013). Reports from Tunisia appear to represent E. pyramidum lucidus.

Diet: Echis leucogaster has a relatively diversified diet, with mainly centipedes (60 % of 792 examined specimens), rodents (15 %) and amphibians (10 %), fide Mané & Trape 2019. 
References
  • Aymerich, Michel, Elizaveta Borof-Aymerich and Philippe Geniez 2004. Neufunde der seltenen Weißbäuchigen Sandrasselotter Echis leucogaster Roman, 1972 in Marokko (Serpentes: Viperidae). Herpetozoa 16 (3/4):157-162 - get paper here
  • Böhme, Wolfgang & Jeffrey Heath 2018. Amphibian and reptilian records from south-central Mali and western Burkina Faso. Bonn zoological Bulletin 67 (1): 59–69 - get paper here
  • Cherlin V A; Borkin L J 1990. Taxonomic revision of the snake genus Echis (Viperidae). 1. An analysis of the history of study and synonymy. TRUDY ZOOLOGICHESKOGO INSTITUTA 207: 175-192, 234.
  • Cherlin, V.A. 1990. Taxonomic revision of the snake genus Echis (Viperidae). II. An analysis of taxonomy and description of new forms [in Russian]. Proc. Zool. Institute Leningrad 207: 193-223
  • 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
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Escoriza, D.; M. Metallinou, D. Donaire-Barroso, F. Amat and S. Carranza 2009. Biogeography of the White-Bellied Carpet Viper Echis leucogaster Roman, 1972 in Morocco, a study combining mitochondrial DNA data and ecological niche modeling. Bull. Soc. Cat. Herp. 18: 55-68
  • Geniez, P.; Mateo, J.A.; Geniez, M. & Pether, J. 2004. The amphibians and reptiles of the Western Sahara (former Spanish Sahara) and adjacent regions. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 228 pp. [reviewed in Reptilia GB 44: 81]
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  • Hughes, B. 2013. Snakes of Bénin, West Africa. Bull. Soc. Herp. France 144: 101-159
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  • Karhánek, Jaroslav; Daniel Koleška, Gabriel Martinez del Marmol Marin, Marco Sassoe-Pognetto 2018. New records of Echis leucogaster in Morocco. Herpetology Notes 11: 655-657 - get paper here
  • KUCHARZEWSKI, C 2011. OLD WORLD VIPERS. A natural history of the Azemiopinae and Viperinae von Tony PHELPS – Anmerkungen, Ergänzungen, Korrekturen. Sauria 33 (3): 19-42 - get paper here
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  • Martínez del Mármol, Gabriel; D. James Harris, Philippe Geniez, Philip de Pous, and Daniele Salvi 2019. Amphibians and Reptiles of Morocco. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 478 pp - get paper here
  • Mármol, Gabriel Martínez del; Ander Izagirre-Egaña, Sonke Frahm & Marco Sassoè 2023. Herpetofauna of Mauritania: results of a field survey. Bol. Asoc. Herpetol. Esp. (2023) 34 Preprint-101 - get paper here
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  • Okuda, Daiju; Chihiro Nozaki, Fujio Sekiya, and Takashi Morita 2001. Comparative Biochemistry of Disintegrins Isolated from Snake Venom: Consideration of the Taxonomy and Geographical Distribution of Snakes in the Genus Echis. J. Biochem. 129: 615-620 - get paper here
  • Padial, J. M. 2006. COMMENTED DISTRIBUTIONAL LIST OF THE REPTILES OF MAURITANIA (WEST AFRICA). Graellsia, 62(2): 159-178 - get paper here
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  • Pook, Catharine E.; Ulrich Joger, Nikolaus Stümpel, Wolfgang Wüster 2009. When continents collide: Phylogeny, historical biogeography and systematics of the medically important viper genus Echis (Squamata: Serpentes: Viperidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53 (3): 792-807 - get paper here
  • Rieser, Jennifer M.; Tai-De Li, Jessica L. Tingle, Daniel I. Goldman, Joseph R. Mendelson 2021. Functional consequences of convergently evolved microscopic skin features on snake locomotion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Feb 2021, 118 (6) e2018264118; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2018264118 - get paper here
  • Roman, B. 1972. Deux sous-espèces de la vipère Echis carinatus (Schneider) dans les territoires de Haute-Volta et du Niger: Echis carinatus ocellatus Stemmler, Echis carinatus leucogaster n. ssp. Notes et documents Voltaïques, 5(4): 11 pp. - get paper here
  • Roman, B. 1975. La vipère Echis carinatus leucogaster Roman, 1972 de Haute-Volta et du Niger élevée au rang d'espèce: Echis leucogaster. Notes et documents Voltaïques 8 (4): 20 pp
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  • Trape, J.-F. 2023. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale, centrale et d’Afrique du Nord. IRD Éditions, Marseille, 896 pp.
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  • 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
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