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Bitis parviocula BÖHME, 1976

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bale Mountains adder 
SynonymBitis parviocula BÖHME 1976
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].”  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: ZFMK 16803. 
Diagnosis 
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 for the Harenna forest and escarpment, in the Bale Mountains National Park, where a live specimen of the new species was recently sighted. For nomenclatural purposes the specific epithet is considered a noun in apposition. 
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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