Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Plate 2.3
(A-D) Pampas snake, false viper or mock viper (
Tomodon dorsatus
), Ibiuna,
Brazil.
The enlarged teeth positioned midway on the maxillae (see
Plate 2.3A-D
)
demonstrate the variability of adaptive dentition among colubroid snakes. The terms,
“rear-fanged,” or “opisthoglyphous,” do not accurately describe the dentition present in
many species of non-front-fanged colubroid snakes.
Tomodon
spp. are members of the tribe,
Tachymeninii, and to date the documented cases of bites from these snakes have caused only
mild effects (see Table 4.1).
Photos copyright to David A. Warrell.
snakes compared to those of Duvernoy's secretions of other colubroids. For example,
although occasional large yields are obtained, manual extraction of venom from the
eastern brown snake (
Pseudonaja textilis
,
Plate 2.5
) typically yields only about 2 mg
of lyophilized venom solids (Peter Mirtschen, personal verbal communication with
SAW and JW; SAW, personal observations), while extraction of some large viper-
ids or elapids [e.g., an adult eastern diamondback rattlesnake,
Crotalus adamanteus
(
Plate 2.6A and B
), West African Gaboon viper,
Bitis rhinoceros
(
Plate 2.7A-C
), and
hamadryad or king cobra,
Ophiophagus hannah
(
Plate 2.8
), respectively], will often
yield large volumes, sometimes in excess of 1 g of venom dry weight (Minton, 1974;
Minton and Minton, 1980; Russell, 1980; Minton and Weinstein, unpublished obser-
vations). Members of the former colubrid assemblage usually produce far lower
