| Dasypeltis scabra | |
|---|---|
| D. scabra after swallowing an egg | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Dasypeltis |
| Species: | D. scabra |
| Binomial name | |
| Dasypeltis scabra (Linnaeus, 1758) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Coluber scaber Linnaeus, 1758 |
|
Dasypeltis scabra, known as the common egg eater, egg-eating snake or rhombic egg eater,[1] is a species of nonvenomous snake.
Contents |
Dasypeltis scabra lives in sub-Saharan Africa.
It grows to a length of 20–35 inches (51–89 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. Ventrally it is yellowish, either uniform or with dark dots.[2]
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.[3]
When disturbed, the snake 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.[4]