Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
(A)
(B)
Plate 4.30
(A and B) Stripe-bellied water snake; culebra verdinegra (
Liophis poecilogyrus
sublineatus
), Ceibas, Entre Rios, Argentina.
There is a single documented case of a brief
bite by one of these snakes. The victim-author reported local and referred pain that persisted
for about 3 days. The bite also caused minor ecchymoses and mild edema. This is similar to a
reported case of a bite by a presumed nominate
L. poecilogyrus
(see
Table 4.1
).
Photos copyright to Alec Earnshaw.
(B)
(A)
(C)
Plate 4.31
(A-C) The keel-backs, keel-back water snakes, or Asian false vipers, genus
Macropisthodon
.
The four known semiaquatic species of
Macropisthodon
range variously
in northern-western Asia, Southeast Asia, and/or the Indian subcontinent. The genus name
describes their markedly enlarged posterior maxillary teeth. There are only a few documented
bites from these natricid snakes. Aside from a single reported case critically analyzed in
Section 4.5,
Macropisthodon
bites have been medically insignificant.
(A) Green keel-back (
Macropisthodon plumbicolor palabariya
), Kandalama, Sri Lanka.
This species also possesses a series of dorsally located glands that are similar to those found in
some members of the genus
Rhabdophis
(the like-named, Asian keel-backs, or flower snakes).
The nuchal gland of
R. tigrinus
produces several novel polyhydroxylated steroid toxins, the
bufadienolides. Unlike the toxins present in Duvernoy's glands, these toxins are formed from
