Genus · Lamprophiidae
Dendrolycus
The genus Dendrolycus contains a single species. It is not considered dangerous to humans.
About Cameroon rainforest snake
A little-known African forest snake, the sole member of its genus within the diverse Lamprophiidae family.
Dendrolycus is a genus of African snake in the family Lamprophiidae, the lamprophiids, a large and varied group of mostly small to medium snakes found across Africa and into parts of the Middle East and Madagascar. The genus contains a single recognized species, the Cameroon rainforest snake (Dendrolycus elapoides), which lives in the humid lowland forests of west-central Africa, in the region around Cameroon. Like many lamprophiids, it is a secretive, ground-dwelling and leaf-litter snake that is rarely encountered, and much of its detailed natural history remains poorly documented.
In general terms, lamprophiids such as this one tend to be modestly sized snakes with smooth or lightly keeled scales and a build suited to moving through forest floor litter, soil, and low vegetation. Recognition of an obscure forest species like Dendrolycus is difficult in the field and is best left to regional herpetologists, since several harmless African forest snakes share similar size, coloration, and habits. The reliable signal is the setting: deep, moist tropical forest in the Cameroon region rather than open or arid country.
Most lamprophiids are harmless to people or are rear-fanged with mild venom adapted to subduing small prey such as frogs, lizards, and small mammals, and they are not considered dangerous to humans. Because the specific venom status of this obscure species is not well established, the honest position is caution rather than false reassurance: do not handle any wild snake you cannot confidently identify. If a bite occurs or a venomous snake is suspected, seek professional medical care immediately and contact US Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or your local emergency services.
Dendrolycus belongs to the Lamprophiidae family (African house snakes & allies). Common African snakes, including the familiar house snakes. Variable; many are smooth-scaled, secretive, and active at night.
Danger: Mostly harmless. A few are rear-fanged with mild venom of no medical significance.
All species (1)
Keep learning
- What Is a Snake? Anatomy and the BasicsA clear overview of what makes a snake a snake: limbless body plan, anatomy, evolution from lizards, species diversity, and why they are ectothermic.
- How Snakes Move, Hunt, and EatHow snakes move without legs, hunt as ambushers or active foragers, kill by constriction or venom, and swallow prey wider than their head.
- What Do Snakes Eat?All snakes are carnivores. Learn what snakes eat, how diet changes with size and age, how often they feed, and how they hunt and swallow prey.
- Venomous vs Nonvenomous: How to Tell the DifferenceThe folk rules for telling venomous snakes apart, where each one fails, and why location-based identification beats guessing by sight.