Gaboon Viper
Pictures

Gaboon Viper eating a big rat. This is the heaviest venomous snake on the African continent.

Gaboon Viper (Bitis gabonica), on leaf litter. Its upper body is made up of beautiful diamonds, triangles, and hourglasses in neutral colors that mimic the colors of leaf litter.

The venomous Gaboon viper uses its tongue to smell. It has the longest fangs of any snake. Like many members of Bitis, it has horns between its nostrils.