Bitis

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Bitis

Common names: puff adders, African adders, African vipers.

Bitis is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of venomous
Venomous snake

A venomous snake is a snake that uses modified saliva, snake venom, usually delivered through highly specialized teeth such as hollow fangs, for the purpose of prey immobilization and self-defense....
viper
Viperinae

The Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of venomous snake Viperidaes found in Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the Crotalinae....
s found in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
and the southern Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitics role because of its vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas....
. It includes the largest and the smallest vipers in the world. Members are known for their characteristic threat displays that involves inflating and deflating their bodies while hissing and puffing loudly. The type species
Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
for this genus is B. arietans

Bitis arietans

Bitis arietans is a venomous snake viperinae species found in savannah and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rain forest regions....
, which is also the most widely distributed viper in Africa.

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Encyclopedia

Common names: puff adders, African adders, African vipers.
Bitis is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of venomous
Venomous snake

A venomous snake is a snake that uses modified saliva, snake venom, usually delivered through highly specialized teeth such as hollow fangs, for the purpose of prey immobilization and self-defense....
viper
Viperinae

The Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of venomous snake Viperidaes found in Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the Crotalinae....
s found in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
and the southern Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitics role because of its vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas....
. It includes the largest and the smallest vipers in the world. Members are known for their characteristic threat displays that involves inflating and deflating their bodies while hissing and puffing loudly. The type species
Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
for this genus is B. arietans
Bitis arietans

Bitis arietans is a venomous snake viperinae species found in savannah and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rain forest regions....
, which is also the most widely distributed viper in Africa. Currently, 14 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
are recognized.

Description
Size variation within this genus is extreme, ranging from the very small B. schneideri
Bitis schneideri

Bitis schneideri is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in a small coastal region that straddles the border between Namibia and South Africa....
, which grows to a maximum of 28 cm and is perhaps the world's smallest viperid
Viperidae

The Viperidae are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Australia and Madagascar. All have relatively long hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom....
, to the very large B. gabonica
Bitis gabonica

Bitis gabonica is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the rainforests and savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This is not only the largest member of the genus Bitis, but also the world's heaviest Viperidae and it has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake....
, which can attain a length of over 2 m and is the heaviest viper in the world.

All have a wide, triangular head with a rounded snout, distinct from the neck, and covered in small, keeled, imbricate scales. The canthus
Canthus (snake)

In snakes, the canthus, or canthus rostralis, is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the side of the head between the eye and the snout....
is also distinct. A number of species have enlarged rostral or supraorbital
Orbit (anatomy)

In anatomy, the orbital bone is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its adnexa are situated.It can also mean the skin which surrounds the eye of a bird....
scales that look like horns. The eyes are relatively small. They have large nostrils that are directed outwards and/or upwards. 0-6 rows of small scales separate the rostral and nasal scales. All species have a well-developed supranasal sac. The front of the maxillary bones are very short, supporting only one pair of recurved fangs.

These snakes are moderately to extremely stout. The body is covered with keeled
Keeled scales

Keeled scales refer to reptile scales that, rather than being smooth, have a ridge down the center that may or may not extend to the tip of the scale, making them rough to the touch....
scales that are imbricate with apical pits. At midbody, the dorsal scales
Dorsal scales

In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales.When counting dorsal scales, numbers are often given for three points along the body, for example 19:21:17....
number 21-46. Laterally, the dorsal scales may be slightly oblique. The ventral scales
Ventral scales

In snakes, the ventral scales are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale....
, which number 112-153, are large, rounded and sometimes have slight lateral keels. The tail is short. Anal scale
Anal scale

In snakes, the anal scale is the scale just in front of and covering the cloacal opening. This scale can be either single or paired . When paired, the division is oblique....
single. The paired subcaudal scales
Subcaudal scales

In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. These scales may be either single or divided and are preceded by the anal scale....
number 16-37 and are sometimes keeled laterally.

Geographic range
Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
and the southern Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitics role because of its vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas....
.

Behavior
Bitis species are known for their behavior of inflating and deflating their bodies in loud hissing or puffing threat displays. They are terrestrial
Terrestrial animal

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land, as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats ....
ambush predators and appear sluggish, but can strike with amazing speed. In contrast to the pitvipers of the subfamily Crotalinae
Crotalinae

The Crotalinae, or crotalines, are a subfamily of venomous snake Viperidaes found in Asia and the Americas. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head....
, Bitis species appear to lack heat-sensitive organs and showed no differences in their behavior in laboratory tests towards warm and cool objects that mimicked prey.

Reproduction
All members are viviparous and some give birth to large numbers of offspring.

Venom
All members of this genus are dangerous — some extremely so. At least six different polyvalent antivenoms are available. Five are produced by Aventis Pasteur (France), Pasteur Merieux (France) and SAIMR (South Africa). All of these specifically protect against B. arietans
Bitis arietans

Bitis arietans is a venomous snake viperinae species found in savannah and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rain forest regions....
and four also cover B. gabonica
Bitis gabonica

Bitis gabonica is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the rainforests and savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This is not only the largest member of the genus Bitis, but also the world's heaviest Viperidae and it has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake....
. At least one protects specifically against bites from B. nasicornis
Bitis nasicornis

Bitis nasicornis is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the forests of West Africa and Central Africa. A big viper known for its striking color pattern and prominent horns on its nose....
: India Antiserum Africa Polyvalent. In the past, such antivenoms have been used to treat bites from other Bitis species, but with mixed results.

Species

Species Taxon author Subsp.* Common name Geographic range
B. arietans
Bitis arietans

Bitis arietans is a venomous snake viperinae species found in savannah and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rain forest regions....
^T (Merrem
Blasius Merrem

Blasius Merrem was a Germany natural history.Merrem was born at Bremen , and studied at the university of Göttingen under Johann Friedrich Blumenbach....
, 1820) 1 Puff adder Most of sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara....
south to the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headlands and bays on the Atlantic Ocean coast of South Africa. There is a very common misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa and the dividing point between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Oceans, but in fact the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas, about 150 kilometres t...
, including southern Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
, Mauritania
Mauritania

Mauritania , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest....
, Senegal
Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the S?n?gal River in West Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south....
, Mali
Mali

Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked nation in West Africa. Mali is the seventh largest country in Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the C?te d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west....
, southern Algeria
Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
, Guinea
Guinea

Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea. The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the northeast, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest....
, Ivory Coast, Ghana
Ghana

The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders C?te d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south....
, Togo
Togo

Togo is a narrow country in West Africa bordering Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lom? is located....
, Benin
Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....
, Niger
Niger

Niger , officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east....
, Nigeria
Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federation constitutional republic comprising States of Nigeria and one Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria....
, Chad
Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west....
, Sudan
Sudan

Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
, Cameroon
Cameroon

The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary state of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south....
, Central African Republic
Central African Republic

The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the east, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west....
, northern, eastern and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo , is a country in central Africa with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest list of African countries in order of geographical area....
, Uganda
Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania....
, Kenya
Kenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border....
, Somalia
Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
, Rwanda
Rwanda

The Republic of Rwanda is a small landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania....
, Burundi
Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west....
, Tanzania
Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
, Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
, Zambia
Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Malawi
Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west....
, Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
, Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
, Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
, South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
. Also occurs on the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula

The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitics role because of its vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas....
, where it is found in southwestern Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
and Yemen
Yemen

Yemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. Yemen has an estimated population of more than 23 million people and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the North, the Red Sea to the West, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to the South, and Oman to the east....
.
B. atropos
Bitis atropos

Bitis atropos is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in three mountainous regions in southern Africa. A small species that is unusual in that its venom includes a major neurotoxin....
(Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
, 1758) 0 Berg adder Isolated populations in the mountainous areas of southern Africa
Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics, consisting of numerous territories....
: the Inyanga Highlands and Chimanimani Mountains
Chimanimani, Zimbabwe

Chimanimani is a mountainous area in the province of Manicaland, eastern Zimbabwe. The area is the southernmost section of the Eastern Highlands, 150 km from the town of Mutare , and much of it constitutes a National Park....
of eastern Zimbabwe and nearby Mozambique, in South Africa along the Drakensberg Escarpments
Drakensberg

The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu language, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti ....
in the provinces of Transvaal, western Natal
Natal Province

Natal, meaning Christmas in Portuguese language, was a name given by the Portuguese people Vasco da Gama to the place after he had arrived on ship on the 25th of December and found the African Royal King Menzi Xaba and his people celebrating the birth of a king, Nkayishana, Menzi's son....
, Lesotho
Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave ? entirely surrounded by the South Africa. Formerly Basutoland, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations....
and eastern Free State
Free State

The Free State is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. The name is a popular contraction of the previous name the Orange Free State. Its capital is Bloemfontein which is also South Africa's judicial capital....
, and in the southern coastal mountains of western and eastern Cape Province
Cape Province

The Cape of Good Hope Province was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Colony, and had Cape Town as its capital....
.
B. caudalis
Bitis caudalis

Bitis caudalis is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the arid region of south-west Africa. Easily distinguished by the presence of a single, large horn-like scale over each eye....
(Smith
Andrew Smith (zoologist)

Dr. Sir Andrew Smith Order of the Bath was a Scotland surgery, naturalist, explorer and zoologist.Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire. He obtained a good education by diligence and hard work and qualified in medicine at Edinburgh University obtaining an M.D....
, 1839) 0 Horned adder The arid region of south-west Africa: south-west Angola, Namibia, across the Kalahari Desert
Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari Desert is a large, arid desert area in southwestern Sub-Saharan Africa extending 900,000 km? , covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa....
of southern Botswana, into northern Transvaal
Transvaal

File:Flag of Transvaal.svgFile:Transvaal map.pngFile:Spelterini Transvaal.jpgThe Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa....
and southwestern Zimbabwe. In South Africa it is found from the northern Cape Province south to the Great Karoo.
B. cornuta
Bitis cornuta

Bitis cornuta is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in certain rocky desert areas, mostly along the Atlantic coast of southern Africa....
(Daudin
François Marie Daudin

Fran?ois Marie Daudin was a France zoologist.With legs paralyzed by childhood disease, he studied of physics and natural history, but ended up being devoted to the latter....
, 1803) 1 Many-horned adder The coastal region of south-west Namibia through west and south-west Cape Province in South Africa. There are also a few isolated populations in eastern Cape Province.
B. gabonica
Bitis gabonica

Bitis gabonica is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the rainforests and savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This is not only the largest member of the genus Bitis, but also the world's heaviest Viperidae and it has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake....
(Duméril
André Marie Constant Duméril

Andr? Marie Constant Dum?ril was a France zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Mus?um National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology....
, Bibron
Gabriel Bibron

Gabriel Bibron was a France zoologist. He classified a number of reptile species with Andr? Marie Constant Dum?ril....
& Duméril, 1854) 1 Gaboon viper Guinea, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Central African Republic, southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, eastern Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, eastern Zimbabwe, Mozambique, northeast KwaZulu-Natal Province
KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal , often referred to as "KZN", is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. Prior to 1994 the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the Natal Province and all pieces of territory that made up the homeland of KwaZulu....
in South Africa.
B. heraldica
Bitis heraldica

Bitis heraldica is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in Angola. Easily distinguished from Bitis caudalis by its heavily speckled belly and lack of any supraocular horns....
(Bocage
José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage

Jos? Vicente Barbosa du Bocage was a Portuguese zoologist and politician. He was the curator of Zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Lisbon....
, 1889) 0 Angolan adder The high plateau of central Angola.
B. inornata
Bitis inornata

Bitis inornata is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in Cape Province, South Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized....
(Smith, 1838) 0 Plain mountain adder Isolated population on the Sneeuberg, eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
B. nasicornis
Bitis nasicornis

Bitis nasicornis is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the forests of West Africa and Central Africa. A big viper known for its striking color pattern and prominent horns on its nose....
(Shaw
George Shaw

George Shaw was an England botanist and zoologist.Shaw was born at Bierton, Buckinghamshire and was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, receiving his M.A....
, 1792) 0 Rhinoceros viper From Guinea to Ghana in West Africa
West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:...
, and in Central Africa
Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
in the Central African Republic, southern Sudan, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DR Congo, Angola, Rwanda, Uganda and western Kenya.
B. parviocula
Bitis parviocula

Bitis parviocula is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in south-west Ethiopia. It is large with a broad head and spectacular geometric markings....
Böhme, 1977 0 Ethiopian mountain adder Known from only three localities in the highlands to south-west Ethiopia
Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
, at altitudes of 2000-3000 m.
B. peringueyi
Bitis peringueyi

Bitis peringueyi is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in Namibia and southern Angola. No subspecies are currently recognized....
(Boulenger
George Albert Boulenger

George Albert Boulenger was a Belgium-United Kingdom zoologist....
, 1888) 0 Peringuey's desert adder The Namib Desert
Namib Desert

The Namib Desert is a desert in Namibia and southwest Angola which forms part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. The name "Namib" is of Nama language origin....
from southern Angola to Lüderitz, Namibia.
B. rubida
Bitis rubida

Bitis rubida is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in Western Cape Province, South Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized....
Branch, 1997 0 Red adder Several isolated populations in the northern Cape Fold Mountains and inland escarpment in Western Cape Province, South Africa.
B. schneideri
Bitis schneideri

Bitis schneideri is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in a small coastal region that straddles the border between Namibia and South Africa....
(Boettger
Oskar Boettger

Oskar Boettger; Boettger is credited for making Senckenberg's herpetological collection one of the best in Europe during his tenure there. He suffered from agoraphobia, and relied on assistants to collect specimens for him....
, 1886) 0 Namaqua dwarf adder White coastal sand dunes from Namibia, near Lüderitz
Lüderitz

L?deritz is a harbour town in southern Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island, Namibia....
, south to Hondeklip Bay, Little Namaqualand
Namaqualand

Namaqualand is an arid region of South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of 170,000 square miles/440,000 km?....
, South Africa.
B. worthingtoni
Bitis worthingtoni

Bitis worthingtoni is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in the high central Rift valley of Kenya. No subspecies are currently recognized....
Parker, 1932 0 Kenyan horned viper Restricted to Kenya's high central Rift Valley at altitudes over 1500 m.
B. xeropaga
Bitis xeropaga

Bitis xeropaga is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in southern Namibia and north-western Cape Province in South Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized....
Haacke, 1975 0 Desert mountain adder North-western Cape Province in South Africa and the arid mountains of the lower Orange River basin, north into to southern Namibia and Great Namaqualand
Namaqualand

Namaqualand is an arid region of South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of 170,000 square miles/440,000 km?....
as far as Aus.
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
^T) Type species
Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
.

Taxonomy
Other species may be encountered in literature, such as:

B. albanica - Hewitt, 1937
B. armata - Smith, 1826

Lenk et al. (1999) used molecular data (immunological distances and mitochondrial DNA sequences) to estimate the phylogenetic relationships among species of Bitis. They identified four major monophyletic groups for which they created four subgenera
Subgenus

In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. See rank and rank .In ICZN, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a binomen, in parentheses, placed between the name of a biological genus and specific name: e.g....
:

Bitis - B. arietans
Bitis arietans

Bitis arietans is a venomous snake viperinae species found in savannah and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rain forest regions....
Calechidna - B. albanica, B. armata, B. atropos
Bitis atropos

Bitis atropos is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in three mountainous regions in southern Africa. A small species that is unusual in that its venom includes a major neurotoxin....
, B. caudalis
Bitis caudalis

Bitis caudalis is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the arid region of south-west Africa. Easily distinguished by the presence of a single, large horn-like scale over each eye....
, B. cornuta
Bitis cornuta

Bitis cornuta is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in certain rocky desert areas, mostly along the Atlantic coast of southern Africa....
, B. heraldica
Bitis heraldica

Bitis heraldica is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in Angola. Easily distinguished from Bitis caudalis by its heavily speckled belly and lack of any supraocular horns....
, B. inorata
Bitis inornata

Bitis inornata is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in Cape Province, South Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized....
, B. peringueyi
Bitis peringueyi

Bitis peringueyi is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in Namibia and southern Angola. No subspecies are currently recognized....
, B. rubida
Bitis rubida

Bitis rubida is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in Western Cape Province, South Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized....
, B. schneideri
Bitis schneideri

Bitis schneideri is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in a small coastal region that straddles the border between Namibia and South Africa....
, B. xeropaga
Bitis xeropaga

Bitis xeropaga is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in southern Namibia and north-western Cape Province in South Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized....
Macrocerastes - B. gabonica
Bitis gabonica

Bitis gabonica is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the rainforests and savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This is not only the largest member of the genus Bitis, but also the world's heaviest Viperidae and it has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake....
, B. nasicornis
Bitis nasicornis

Bitis nasicornis is a venomous snake Viperinae species found in the forests of West Africa and Central Africa. A big viper known for its striking color pattern and prominent horns on its nose....
, B. parviocula
Bitis parviocula

Bitis parviocula is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in south-west Ethiopia. It is large with a broad head and spectacular geometric markings....
Keniabitis - B. worthingtoni
Bitis worthingtoni

Bitis worthingtoni is a venomous snake Viperinae species found only in the high central Rift valley of Kenya. No subspecies are currently recognized....

For now, this division is of little consequence as far as the nomenclature is concerned. However, the definition of subgenera within a genus is often the sign of an impending split. Therefore, anyone interested in these snakes would do well to familiarize themselves with these new subgenera.

See also

List of viperine species and subspecies
List of viperine species and subspecies

This is a list of all Genus, species and subspecies of the subfamily Viperinae, otherwise referred to as viperines, true vipers, pitless vipers or Old World vipers....
Snakebite
Snakebite

Snakes often bite their prey when feeding, but occasionally they also bite humans. People can avoid and treat snakebites by knowing their etiology, along with prevention tips, and first-aid and hospital treatment....

Further reading

External links

at . Accessed 5 October 2006.