Bitis nasicornis (Shaw, 1802)

Ineich, Ivan, LeBreton, Matthew, Lhermitte-Vallarino, Nathaly, Abstract. - The, Laurent Chirio, Oku, Mount & Highlands, Bamenda, 2015, The reptiles of the summits of Mont Oku and the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon *, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 108) 9 (2), pp. 15-38 : 31

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13270281

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DAE649-EF1E-951D-FCA0-FCA3C5CEFB7D

treatment provided by

Felipe (2024-07-03 20:28:32, last updated 2024-08-08 11:58:16)

scientific name

Bitis nasicornis (Shaw, 1802)
status

 

Bitis nasicornis (Shaw, 1802) View in CoL (no available specimen)

This bulky viper, characterized by its horn-shaped scales at the snout tip, shows a vast African distribution. It occupies dense evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, the Western Highlands, and the forest-savanna mosaics in well-preserved forest pockets. It prefers moist valley bottoms in the dense forests, and is considered a dangerous venomous snake. It occurs up to 2,000 m altitude at Lake Awing in the BH in Cameroon (specimen observed but not collected), and up to 2,400 m in East Africa ( Spawls et al. 2002; Kucharzewski 2011). It was reported from Mbengwi, northwest of Bamenda (elev. 1,200 m) by Stucky-Stirn (1979).

Kucharzewski C. 2011. Book review: Old World Vipers. A natural history of the Azemiopinae and Viperinae von Tony Phelps - Anmerkungen, Erganzungen, Korrekturen. Sauria (Berlin) 33 (3): 19 - 42.

Spawls S, Howell K, Drewes R, Ashe J. 2002. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Academic Press, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Boston, London, Sydney, Tokyo. 543 p.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Squamata

Family

Viperidae

Genus

Bitis