Many-horned adder
{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Illustrations of the zoology of South Africa (6263863570).jpg
| status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Bitis
| species = cornuta
| authority = (Daudin, 1803)
| synonyms = * Vipera cornuta Daudin, 1803
- Vip[era]. lophophris
Cuvier, 1829 - Vip[era]. lophophrys
— Wagler, 1830 - Vipera lophophris
— Gray, 1831 - Cerastes cornuta
— Gray, 1842 - Vipera (Echidna) atropoides A. Smith, 1846
- Vipera atropoides
— A. Smith, 1846 - Clotho cornuta — Gray, 1849
- Cerastes lophophrys
— A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron &
A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 - V[ipera]. (Cerastes) cornuta
— Jan, 1863 - Vipera (Clotho) cornuta
— Higgins, 1873 - Bitis cornuta
— Boulenger, 1896 - Bitis cornuta cornuta
— Bogert, 1940
| synonyms_ref = McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).
}}
The many-horned adder (Bitis cornuta) is a viper species. It is found in certain rocky desert areas, mostly along the Atlantic coast of southern Africa, in western South Africa and southwestern Namibia. It has characteristic tufts of "horns" above each eye.Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-029-8}}. Like all other vipers, it is venomous. No subspecies are currently recognized.{{ITIS |id=634952 |taxon=Bitis cornuta |accessdate=5 February 2022}}
Taxonomy
Common names include many-horned adder,{{NRDB species |genus=Bitis |species=cornuta |accessdate=5 February 2022}} hornsman, western hornsman adder, and western many-horned adder.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. {{ISBN|0-89464-877-2}}.
The type locality given is "Cap de Bonne-espérance" (Cape of Good Hope, South Africa). Actually, according to Patterson's itinerary, the type was observed in coastal Namaqualand, on 1 September 1779.
Description
Small and stout, it grows to a typical total length (body and tail) of 30–50 cm (about 12–20 inches). The maximum recorded total length is {{convert|75|cm|in|abbr=on}} for a captive specimen.
Two to five raised, horn-like scales occur above each eye.Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the...Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers.) xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. (Bitis cornuta, pp. 497-498.)
Dorsally, it has a grey to reddish-brown ground colour, overlaid with four longitudinal series of large, dark-brown blotches, which are squarish or parallelogram-like in shape, and edged with white. Ventrally, it is whitish or tan, either uniform or speckled with dark brown. On the dorsal surface of the head, dark, symmetrical markings may form an arrowhead.
Distribution and habitat
The many-horned adder ranges from the coastal region of southwest Namibia through west and southwest Cape Province in South Africa, with a few isolated populations in eastern Cape Province.
This species prefers rocky desert areas in dwarf succulent veld and mountain slopes in heathland vegetation.
Behavior
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Branch, Bill. 2004. Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-042-5}}. (Bitis cornuta, pp. 116–117 + Plate 13.)
- Daudin FM. 1803. Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles; Ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire Naturelle générale et particulière, composée par LECLERC DE BUFFON; et rédigée par C.S. SONNINI, membre de plusieurs Sociétés savantes. Tome VI. Paris: F. Dufart. 447 pp. (Vipera cornuta, p. 188.)
External links
{{Commons|Bitis cornuta}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070222135748/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/reptiles/Bitis_cornuta/ Many-horned adder (Bitis cornuta)] at [https://archive.today/20160426231847/http://www.arkive.org/ ARKive]. Accessed 5 October 2006.
- {{YouTube|1KloMZdyNiY|Video of B. caudalis and B. cornuta.}}. Accessed 1 March 2007.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2661334}}
Category:Reptiles of South Africa