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Posted by WW on March 05, 2003 at 03:27:13:
In Reply to: Re: Leptophis posted by rémi on March 05, 2003 at 03:10:53:
:are they opisthoglyph or opisthodont?
:I explain me. Have the fang a furrow (like Boiga) or not (like Xenodon)?
Not sure. However, in any case, the distinction is very artificial and not all that useful. Some species without grooves in the fang (e.g., Rhabdophis) can cause severe envenoming just like species with grooves. There are in fact very many different arrangements of fang morphology in most "colubrid" lineages, with grooves in different parts of the fangs, or ungrooved fangs clustered together to f orm functional grooves. The distinction between aglyphous and opisthoglyphous is almost entirely meaningless.
:I was bite several time in french guyana, and never I can observed a particular reaction.
There are reports of pain, some swelling and prolonged bleding in the literature, although the "severity" (if you can call it that) is absolutely minimal. As in most colubrids, it is to be expected that most bites will be asymptomatic.
Cheers,
Wolfgang
