Venomous Venomous species occurring in Nigeria are in the families
Viperidae,
Elapidae, and
Atractaspidinae. Viperidae include the
carpet viper, the
puff adder, the
Gaboon viper, and the
night adder. They are characterised by their heavily built muscular bodies with black patches for camouflage. Elapidae include the
black-necked spitting cobra, the
Egyptian cobra and the
Mali cobra. Atractaspidinae are a family of small, inoffensive snakes with low chances of envenoming. Native examples include
mole vipers,
stiletto snakes, and
burrowing asps. Most cases of envenomation are caused by the West African carpet viper, the black-necked spitting cobra, and the puff adder.
Non-venomous Non-venomous snakes include examples from the
Colubridae and the
pythons. ==References==