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Atheris rungweensis BOGERT, 1940

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mt Rungwe bush viper 
SynonymAtheris nitschei rungweensis BOGERT 1940: 104
Atheris nitschei rungweensis — HARDING & WELCH 1980
Atheris nitschei rungweensis — BROADLEY & HOWELL 1991: 23
Atheris nitschei rungweensis — WELCH 1994: 21
Atheris rungweensis — BROADLEY 1998: 122
Atheris rungweensis — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007
Atheris rungweensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 62
Atheris rungweensis — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 592
Atheris rungweensis — PIETERSEN et al. 2021 
DistributionSW Tanzania, NE Zambia, N Malawi

Type locality: Rungwe Mountains, Tanzania.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: AMNH 39186 
DiagnosisDIAGNOSIS. A subspecies of nitschei which differs from the typical form (characters of A. n. nitschei are given in parentheses, based upon an examination of thirteen specimens) in possessing: twelve (9-11) supralabials; four (2-3) scales between the nasal and the eye; seven (5-6) scales between the mental and the first ventral, including the first pair of labials and the chinshields; and in having thirteen (8-11) scales across the crown from eye to eye. Furthermore, it differs from typical nitschei in possessing distinctly keeled scales on the top of the head, and in having the gulars keeled. The canthus rostralis is well developed, and the snout is proportionately more narrow than that of the typical form. (Bogert 1940)


Additional details (1907 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Habitat: fully arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). 
EtymologyNamed after the type locality. 
References
  • Bogert,C.M. 1940. Herpetological results of the Vernay Angola Expedition. I. Snakes, including an arrangement of the African Colubridae. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 77: 1-107 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D. G. & HOWELL, K. M. 1991. A check list of the reptiles of Tanzania, with synoptic keys. Syntarsus 1: 1—70
  • Broadley, D.G. 1998. A review of the genus Atheris Cope (Serpentes: Viperidae), with the description of a new species from Uganda. The Herpetological Journal 8: 117-135. - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G.; Doria, C.T. & Wigge, J. 2003. Snakes of Zambia. An Atlas and Field Guide. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 280 pp. [review in Sauria 26 (3): 21]
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Ernst, R. & Rödel, M. O. 2002. A new Atheris species (Serpentes: Viperidae), from Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. The Herpetological Journal 12: 55-61 - get paper here
  • Harrington, Sean M; Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane 2018. Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 125 (1): 61–71 - get paper here
  • Mallow, D. Ludwig, D. & Nilson, G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger, Malabar, Florida, 410 pp. [review in HR 35: 200, Reptilia 35: 74]
  • Menegon, M.; Loader, S.P.; Marsden, S.J.; Branch, W.R.; Davenport, T.R.B. & Ursenbacher, S. 2014. The genus Atheris (Serpentes: Viperidae) in East Africa: Phylogeny and the role of rifting and climate in shaping the current pattern of species diversity. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 79: 12-22 - get paper here
  • MENEGON, MICHELE; TIM R.B. DAVENPORT & KIM M. HOWELL 2011. Description of a new and critically endangered species of Atheris (Serpentes: Viperidae) from the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, with an overview of the country’s tree viper fauna. Zootaxa 3120: 43–54 - get paper here
  • Phelps, T. 2010. Old World Vipers. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 558 pp. [critical review in Sauria 33 (3): 19 and HR 43: 503]
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Rasmussen, J.B. & K.M. HOWELL 1982. The current status of the rare Usambara mountain forest-viper, Atheris ceratophorus Werner, 1895, including a probable new record of Atheris nitschei rungweensis Bogert, 1940, and a discussion of its validity (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae). Amphibia-Reptilia 3: 269-277 - get paper here
  • Spawls, S.; Howell, K.; Drewes, R.C. & Ashe, J. 2002. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, 543 pp. [reviews in HR 34: 396 and Afr. J. Herp. 51; 147] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
 
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