African Saw-scaled Viper

The maximum total length (body + tail) is 65 cm (26 in), possibly more, while the average total length is 30–50 cm (12–20 in). They are characterized by their bulging eyes and short snout, typical of species of the genus Echis. E. ocellatus is terrestrial, nocturnal and crepuscular: it usually goes out to hunt its prey at the first hours of the night, prey like small vertebrates, like mammals, birds, lizards and amphibians, it has already been reported to hunt small invertebrates like centipedes and scorpions. It's a very aggressive viper; it forms its body like a ''S'' and rubs itself making an alert sound with its scales.

It is found in West Africa in Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, southern Niger, and Nigeria. Older records from Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Guinea refer to Echis jogeri, and those from eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and southern Chad to Echis romani. The type locality is described as "Haute Volta, Garango, 048 N, 033 W" (Burkina Faso). There are also reports of single specimens found in the Bangui in the Central African Republic and in central Sudan. It is rarely found north of the 15th parallel, after which E. leucogaster becomes more common. The geographic range of E. ocellatus extends to the coast via the Dahomey Gap. They are mainly found in savanna and occasionally in wooded areas.

Sexually mature females lay between 6 and 20 eggs, usually at the end of the dry season in February to March. Hatchlings are 10–12 cm (3.9–4.7 in) in total length.