Causus maculatus is species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae.

[6] C. maculatus is small and stout, with an average total length (tail included) of 30–60 cm (12–24 in).

Within the geographic range of this species, the ventral scale counts increase from south to north and from east to west.

[3] Spawls and Branch (1995) give a slightly different description of the body scalation: at midbody there are 17–22 rows of dorsal scales, which have been described as soft and feebly keeled.

[5] C. maculatus is found Mauritania and Senegal east to western Ethiopia, south to DR Congo and northern Angola.

"[2] Mallow et al. (2003) mostly quote Spawls and Branch (1995), giving the geographic range as West Africa and Central Africa, from Senegal east to Chad, southeast to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and northeast into southeastern Sudan.

It is also found in the river gorges and low country of southwestern Ethiopia, southwest to northern Angola and DR Congo.

[3] C. maculatus is found in a wide range of habitats, including forests, savanna, and even semi-desert.

It is a relatively slow moving species of snake, but it can strike quickly, tending to lash rather than to stab.