Pattern generally consists of a series of light, oblique, dorsal crossbars or saddles set against a darker ground color.

The flanks are lighter in color, normally with a series of triangular, subtriangular, or circular, dark markings with light or white edges.

Roman (1975) described the type locality as "Boubon, à 20 km au Nord de Niamey, Niger".

[2] According to Golay et al. (1993), the range includes Nigeria, Niger, Upper Volta, southern Algeria and Mauritania.

[4] It eats a wide variety of prey, including invertebrates (especially scorpions and centipedes), small mammals and reptiles.