Xenocalamus mechowii, or the elongate quill-snouted snake, is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the subfamily Aparallactinae of the family Atractaspididae.[1] The species is endemic to Africa.[2]
The specific name or epithet, mechowii, is in honor of Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander von Mechow, a Silesian-German explorer of Africa.[3]
X. mechowii is found in Angola, Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[2]
The preferred habitat of X. mechowii is Kalahari sand.[4]
Dorsally, X. mechowii is yellowish with brown spots, some spots arranged in alternating confluent pairs, others forming crossbands. The upper lip, sides of the body, and venter are unspotted.[5]
A subadult 22.5 cm (8+3⁄4 in) in total length has a tail 3.5 cm (1+3⁄8 in) long.[5]
The species exhibits sexual dimorphism. Adult males may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 58 cm (23 in). Females are larger, and may attain 80 cm (31 in) SVL.[4]
The dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, arranged in 17 rows. The ventrals number 229-239. The anal plate is divided, and the subcaudals which number 31-36 are also divided.[5]
The head scalation is the same as Xenocalamus bicolor, except there are no supraoculars and two postoculars.[5]
The snout is very depressed and very prominent.[4]
X. mechowii preys on amphisbaenians, which it finds by burrowing.[4]
X. mechowii is oviparous. An adult female may lay a clutch of as many as four eggs.[4]
Two subspecies are recognized including the nominate race.
Intergrades of these two subspecies can be found in North-Western Province, Zambia.[6]
Xenocalamus mechowii, or the elongate quill-snouted snake, is a species of venomous rear-fanged snake in the subfamily Aparallactinae of the family Atractaspididae. The species is endemic to Africa.
