Causus rhombeatus (Lichtenstein, 1923)

Baptista, Ninda L., António, Telmo & Branch, William R., 2019, The herpetofauna of Bicuar National Park and surroundings, southwestern Angola: a preliminary checklist, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 203) 13 (2), pp. 96-130 : 121

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13238919

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/7E2D87A6-FF95-FFC5-D58A-FC854A1FFA2E

treatment provided by

Felipe (2024-07-03 21:20:31, last updated 2024-08-06 15:10:44)

scientific name

Causus rhombeatus (Lichtenstein, 1923)
status

 

Causus rhombeatus (Lichtenstein, 1923) View in CoL

Rhombic Night Adder ( Fig. 36 View Fig )

Material: Photographic record from Handa Farm (J. Traguedo, HF).

Comment: The taxonomy of night adders in Angola has long been confusing (Branch 2018). Causus bilineatus was described from a variety of C. rhombeatus by Boulenger (1905), but synonymies and species validity remained problematic until a recent revision by Rasmussen (2005), who reassessed C. bilineatus and related species, mapped the geographic distribution of Angolan night adders, and provided a key to the genus. Scale counts could not be made on the specimen from Handa Farm, although the photographed snake had a very conspicuous V-shaped marking on the head, 25 well-separated dark conspicuous rhombic vertebral markings occasionally with a white contour against a paler background, and lacked dorsolateral stripes ( Fig. 36 View Fig ). It was therefore assigned to C. rhombeatus , which is widespread in Angola ( Rasmussen 2005; Marques et al. 2018).

Boulenger GA. 1905. A list of the batrachians and reptiles collected by Dr. W. J. Ansorge in Angola, with descriptions of new species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Series 7, 16: 8 - 115.

Marques MP, Ceriaco LMP, Blackburn DC, Bauer AM. 2018. Diversity and distribution of the amphibians and terrestrial reptiles of Angola: atlas of historical and bibliographic records (1840 - 2017). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65 (Supplement II): 1 - 501.

Rasmussen J. 2005. On the identification and distribution of the two-striped night adder (Causus bilineatus) and related forms. African Journal of Herpetology 54 (1): 1 - 15.

Gallery Image

Fig. 36. Causus rhombeatus, Handa Farm (Photo by J. Traguedo).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Squamata

Family

Viperidae

Genus

Causus