Chilorhinophis gerardi

Chilorhinophis gerardi, commonly known as the Congo two-headed snake, Gerard's black and yellow burrowing snake, and Gerard's two-headed snake, is a species of mildly venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae.^[3] The species is endemic to Africa.

Chilorhinophis gerardi
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Atractaspididae
Genus:	Chilorhinophis
Species:	C. gerardi
Binomial name
Chilorhinophis gerardi (Boulenger, 1913)
Synonyms[2]
Apostolepis gerardi Boulenger, 1913 Parkerophis gerardi — Barbour & Amaral, 1927 Chilorhinophis gerardi — de Witte & Laurent, 1947

Etymology

The specific name, gerardi, is in honor of Belgian physician and naturalist Pol Gérard (1886-1961) who collected the type specimen.^[4]

Geographic range

C. gerardi is found in southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire), Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of C. gerardi is savanna, at altitudes up to 920 m (3,020 ft).^[1]

Reproduction

C. gerardi is oviparous.^[2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies of C. gerardi are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[2]

• Chilorhinophis gerardi gerardi (Boulenger, 1913)
• Chilorhinophis gerardi tanganyikae Loveridge, 1951

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Chilorhinophis.