Giant Madagascan Hognose Snake

Leioheterodon madagascariensis, the Malagasy, Madagascar or Madagascan giant hognose (snake), is a harmless species of pseudoxyrhophiid snake endemic to the island nation of Madagascar. The species is also found on the country's smaller islands of Nosy Be, Nosy Mangabe, and Nosy Sakatia, as well as on the Comoros archipelago, in the Mozambique Channel. It is thought, by some, to have been introduced to the Grande Comoro. Mature giant hognose snakes can measure between 130 and 180 cm (4 ft. to nearly 6 ft., or between 1-2 meters) in length, and be roughly the thickness of an average adult human's arm.

Similarly to the Heterodon or Lystrophis genera of new-world hognoses, the Madagascar giant hognose, when threatened, will raise its head, open its mouth and inflate the skin around its neck and chin, superficially mimicking a cobra (or even a bearded dragon) in defensive posture, in an attempt to look larger and more intimidating. This snake is considered to be opisthoglyphous ("rear-fanged" or "rear-fanged venomous"), as it possess a pair of pin-like, widely spaced teeth at the back of the mouth, connected to the maxilla.