1 Département de Biologie Animale, Université d’Antananarivo, BP 906, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar

2 Zoologische Statssammlung München (ZSM-SNSB), Münchhausenstrabe 21, München, 81247, Germany

3 Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan

ABSTRACT

We report on a case of potential envenomation caused by multiple bites by the aglyphous opisthodont snake Leioheterodon madagascariensis in the left thumb of a healthy adult man, which is among the most serious snakebites hitherto reported from Madagascar. The adult snake (total length > 1 meter) was unusually aggressive before and during capture. The symptoms included extensive bleeding, severe local pain, and substantial swelling of the hand and the distal part of the lower arm. The swelling disappeared entirely after five days, but pain in the thumb (when moved) was recognizable even longer. Although L. madagascariensis is widespread and common in anthropogenic habitats in eastern and western Madagascar, this case report seems to be the first description of long-lasting symptoms of its bite. Since aglyphous snakes are relatively rarely involved in “envenomation” and because hemolytic activity has been recorded in the secretions of the Duvernoy’s glands ofLeioheterodon, we describe its dentition using microcomputed tomography and discuss the potential mode of envenomation in this case.

Key words: Madagascar; Lamprophiidae; Pseudoxyrhophiinae; Leioheterodon madagascariensis; Envenomation; Dentition; Microcomputed tomography

Consent

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the editor-in-chief of this journal.

Ethics committee approval

The CT-scanned snake specimen was collected and exported with all necessary permits of the Ministère de l’Environnement, de l’Ecologie, de la Mer et des Forêts, Madagascar. Approval by an ethics committee is not required by Malagasy laws for observations of accidental snakebites.

Received: February 25, 2015; Revised: November 17, 2015; Accepted: November 20, 2015

Corresponding author: Bertrand  Razafimahatratrarazbertrand@gmail.com

Competing interests

The authors declare that there are no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

BR experienced snake envenomation and contributed to writing. CW carried out the microcomputed tomography study and contributed to writing. AM contributed to writing. FG conceived of the study, collected data, and drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.