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Bitis parviocula BÖHME, 1977

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bale Mountains adder 
SynonymBitis parviocula BÖHME 1977
Bitis parviocula — WELCH 1994: 29
Bitis (Macrocerastes) parviocula — LENK et al. 1999 (tentatively)
Bitis parviocula — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 365
Bitis parviocula — LARGEN & SPAWLS 2010: 615
Bitis parviocula — LIVIGNI 2013: 279
Bitis (Macrocerastes) parviocula — WITTENBERG et al. 2014
Bitis parviocula — WALLACH et al. 2014: 94
Bitis (Macrocerastes) parviocula — BARLOW et al. 2019 
DistributionEthiopia

Type locality: “bei Yambo (= Yembo), an der Strasse von Metu nach Bedelle, Provinz Illubabor, SW Äthiopien [Ethiopia].”  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZFMK 16803. 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2866 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: The holotype of Bitis harenna sp. nov. was identified previously as B. parviocula (Largen & Rasmussen 1993, Largen & Spawls 2010) and was used by Wittenberg et al. (2015) to score morphological characters for that species in their phylogenetic analyses. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin "parvus" = small, and "oculus" = eye, referring to small eyes in the species ("...differs from all three species in ... very small eyes and nostrils, and relatively short fangs.") 
References
  • Barlow A, Wüster W, Kelly CMR, Branch WR, Phelps T, Tolley KA. 2019. Ancient habitat shifts and organismal diversification are decoupled in the African viper genus Bitis (Serpentes: Viperidae). J Biogeogr. 46: 1234– 1248 - get paper here
  • Böhme, Wolfgang 2014. Herpetology in Bonn. Mertensiella 21. vi + 256 pp. - get paper here
  • Böhme,W. 1977. Eine neue Art der Gattung Bitis (Serpentes, viperidae) aus Äthiopien. Monitore zool. ital. (N.S.) Suppl. 9 (3): 59-68 - get paper here
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • GOWER, DAVID J.; EDWARD O. Z. WADE, STEPHEN SPAWLS, WOLFGANG BÖHME, EVAN R. BUECHLEY, DANIEL SYKES, TIMOTHY J. COLSTON 2016. A new large species of Bitis Gray, 1842 (Serpentes: Viperidae) from the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. Zootaxa 4093 (1): 041–063 - get paper here
  • KANE, DANIEL; BENJAMIN TAPLEY, KIMBERLEY CARTER & CHRISTOPHER MICHAELS. 2022. Reproduction of the Ethiopian mountain adder, Bitis parviocula Böhme, 1976 (Reptilia: Viperidae), at ZSL London Zoo. Herpetology Notes 15: 423–429. - get paper here
  • Largen, M.J.; Spawls, S. 2010. Amphibians and Reptiles of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 694 pp.
  • Largen,M.J. & Rasmussen,J.B. 1993. Catalogue of the snakes of Ethiopia (Reptilia Serpentes), including identification keys. Tropical Zoology 6: 313-434 - get paper here
  • LiVigni, F. (ed.) 2013. A Life for Reptiles and Amphibians, Volume 1. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 495 pp. - 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]
  • MARITZ, B., WALLNER, A. & DEANS, R. 2013. Bitis parviocula (Böhme 1977) Reproduction. African Herp News (59): 28-29 - get paper here
  • Martínez del Mármol, G. 2020. The phenotypic variability of the Genus Bitis Gray 1842, with remarks in its resemblance to other vipers. In: Martínez, G., León, R., Jiménez-Robles, O., González De la Vega, J. P., Gabari, V., Rebollo, B., Sánchez-Tójar, A., Fernández-Cardenete, J. R., Gállego, J. (Eds.). Amphibians and Reptiles of Morocco and Western Sahara - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - 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]
  • Spawls, Stephen 1994. The herpetofauna of Ethiopia. Part 2. The forests and the mountains. Reptilian 2 (10): 7-14
  • Spawls, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch & Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 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.
  • Wittenberg, Rod D. & Robert C. Jadin & Allyson M. Fenwick & Ronald L. Gutberlet Jr. 2014. Recovering the evolutionary history of Africa’s most diverse viper genus: morphological and molecular phylogeny of Bitis (Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae). Org Divers Evol, DOI 10.1007/s13127-014-0185-3
 
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