Dasypeltis gansi

Dasypeltis gansi
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Dasypeltis
Species:	D. gansi
Binomial name
Dasypeltis gansi J. Trape & Mané, 2006

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

The specific name, gansi, is in honor of American herpetologist Carl Gans. ^[2]

Geographic range

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

The preferred natural habitat of D. gansi is savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft). ^[1]

Description

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

D. gansi is terrestrial and partly arboreal. ^{[1] [3]}

Diet

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

D. gansi is oviparous. ^[3]

References

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. Species Dasypeltis gansi at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
4. 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.
5. 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

• 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". Draco16 (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 France119: 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).