Echis hughesi

Echis hughesi, also known commonly as Hughes' carpet viper, the Somali carpet viper, and Hughes' saw-scaled viper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Somalia. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Etymology

The specific name, hughesi, is in honor of British herpetologist Barry Hughes.

Description

E. hughesi grows to a total length (including tail) of about . The head scalation is similar to that of E. pyramidum. Midbody, there are 24–25 dorsal scale rows. The ventrals number 144–149, and the subcaudals number 28–30. The color pattern varies, but generally consists of a series of pale, oblique, dorsal blotches set against a darker ground color.

Geographic range

E. hughesi is found only in northern Somalia, in northern Migiurtinia, near Meledin.

The type locality is listed as "Somalia, 10°02' [N lat.], 49° [E long.]".

Migiurtinia was the name of a region, or gobolka, in Somalia that is currently known as Bari and occupies about of the tip of the Horn of Africa.

Reproduction

E. hughesi is oviparous.

References

Further reading

• (1990). ["A taxonomic revision of the snake genus Echis (Viperidae). II. An analysis of taxonomy and description of new forms"]. [Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of Leningrad ] 207: 193–223. (Echis hughesi, new species). (in Russian).
• , Smith HM, Broadley DG, Dixon JR, , , , (1993). Endoglyphs and Other Major Venomous Snakes of the World. A Checklist. Geneva: Azemiops. 478 pp.
• (2010). Old World Vipers: A natural history of the Azemiopinae and Viperinae. Frankfurt am Main Germany: Edition Chimaira. 558 pp. .
• , , (2023). Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi, Sydney: Bloomsbury Wildlife. 640 pp. .

External links