Bitis atropos

Common names: berg adder,^[2] Cape mountain adder, mountain adder.^[3][4]

Bitis atropos is a venomous viper species found only in three mountainous regions in southern Africa.^[1] A small species that is unusual in that its venom includes a major neurotoxin.^[2] No subspecies are currently recognized.^[5]

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Description

  The average adult size is 30-40 cm, with some females reaching a maximum 50 cm in the wild and 60 cm in captivity.^[2]

Geographic range

Isolated populations in the mountainous areas of southern Africa: the Inyanga Highlands and Chimanimani Mountains of eastern Zimbabwe and nearby Mozambique, in South Africa along the Drakensberg Escarpments in the provinces of Transvaal, western Natal, Lesotho and eastern Free State, and in the southern coastal mountains of western and eastern Cape Province.^[1] Spawls & Branch (1995) also mention that in Cape Province, its range extends into the Cape Peninsula.^[2]

The type locality given is "America", but this is obviously a mistake. More likely is the Cape of Good Hope, according to FitzSimons (1962).^[1]

Habitat

Occupies a number of different habitats, but prefers relatively cool environments with high levels of precipitation. In the northern part of its range, where the winters are cold and dry and the summers warm and wet, it is therefore restricted to higher elevations: up to 3000 m. Not found below 1500 m in Zimbabwe. Usually associated with mountain slopes and rocky hillsides, but also montane grassland with patches of bushes and shrubs.^[2][3]

In the southern part of its range (Cape Province, South Africa), where the winters are cold and wet and the summers warm and dry, it can be found in coastal and mountain heathland as well as small rock outcrops at sea level and grassy areas with bushes with clumps of bushes and shrubs.^[2][3]

See also

• List of viperine species and subspecies
• Viperinae by common name
• Viperinae by taxonomic synonyms
• Snakebite

References

Further reading