You are here » home › search results › Atheris squamigera

Atheris squamigera HALLOWELL, 1854

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Atheris squamigera?

Add your own observation of
Atheris squamigera »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Variable Bush Viper, African Bush Viper, Rough-scaled Bush Viper
G: Rankschuppige Buschviper 
SynonymAtheris squamigera squamigera (HALLOWELL 1854)
Echis squamigera HALLOWELL 1854: 193
Toxicoa squamata COPE 1859: 341
Atheris squamatus COPE 1862: 337 ?
Poecilostolus burtonii GÜNTHER 1863: 239
Atheris burtonii — GÜNTHER 1863: 16
Atheris polylepis PETERS 1864 fide BROADLEY (in GOLAY 1993)
Atheris Lucani ROCHEBRUNE 1885: 89
Atheris Proximus ROCHEBRUNE 1885: 90
Atheris squamigera — SCHMIDT 1923: 144
Atheris squamigera robusta LAURENT 1956
Atheris squamigera robusta — LAURENT 1958: 128
Atheris squamiger — WELCH 1994: 21
Atheris squamiger — TRAPE & ROUX-ESTÈVE 1995: 45
Atheris squamigera — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 357
Atheris squamigera — LAWSON & USTACH 2000
Atheris squamigera — WALLACH et al. 2014: 62
Atheris squamigera — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 593
Atheris cf. squamigera — SANTOS et al. 2021 
DistributionKenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea (incl. Bioko Island), Central African Republic, W/C/E Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Angola, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Republic of South Sudan (RSS) ?

Type locality: near the river Gabon (see comment).  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: ANSP 6949. Considered lost until it was rediscovered by Lawson and Ustach (2000). 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2915 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Subspecies and synonymy: Atheris anisolepis has been removed from synonymy with A. squamigera by BROADLEY 1998 but then again synonymized by LAWSON & USTACH (2000). Some of SCHMIDT’s Atheris squamigera may be A. hispida (LAURENT 1956). Atheris subocularis FISCHER 1888 has been removed from synonymy with A. squamigera by LAWSON et al. (2001). BROADLEY 1998 and LAWSON & USTACH (2000) do not recognize any subspecies of A. squamigera.

The type locality was originally given as “near the river Gabon, Guinea”.

Habitat: fully arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018).

Distribution: For a map with localities in Equatorial Guinea see SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS et al. 2022. 
References
  • Berkheimer, R. 1996. Want to get lens-to-nose with venomous snakes? Reptile & Amphibian Magazine (Feb 1996): 66-71
  • Boettger, OSKAR 1887. Diagnoses reptilium novorum ad ilI. viro Paul Hesse in finnibus fluminis Congo repetorum. Zool. Anz. 10 (267): 649-651 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G. A. 1897. A list of reptiles and batrachians from the Congo Free State, with the description of two new snakes. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (6) 19: 276-281 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1995. Geographical Distribution - Atheris squamigera squamiger. African Herp News (23): 49-49 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1996. A review of the tribe Atherini (Serpentes: Viperidae), with the descriptions of two new genera. African Journal of Herpetology 45: 40-48. - get paper here
  • 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
  • Burger, M.; Branch, W.R. & Channing, A. 2004. Amphibians and Reptiles of Monts Doudou, Gabon: Species Turnover Along an Elevational Gradient. California Academy of Sciences Memoir 28: 145–186
  • Carlino, P. & Pauwels, O.S.G. 2015. An Updated Reptile List of Ivindo National Park, the Herpetofaunal Hotspot of Gabon. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 50(3): 25-39 - get paper here
  • Ceríaco, Luis M. P.; Mariana P. Marques and Aaron. M. Bauer. 2020. The Bush Vipers, Genus Atheris Cope, 1862 (Squamata: Viperidae) of Bioko Island, Gulf of Guinea, with the Description of A New Species. Zootaxa 4838 (4): 581–593 - get paper here
  • Chifundera, K. 1990. Snakes of Zaire and their bites. Afr. Stud. Monogr. (Kyoto) 10(3): 137-157.
  • Chippaux, Jean-Philippe & Kate Jackson 2019. Snakes of Central and Western Africa. Johns Hopkins University Press, 448 pp. [detaileld review in HR 51 (1): 161] - get paper here
  • Chirio, L. & Lebreton, M. 2007. Atlas des reptiles du Cameroun. MNHN, IRD, Paris 688 pp.
  • COLLET, Marcel & Jean-Francois TRAPE 2020. Une nouvelle espèce du genre Atheris Cope, 1862, de la province de l’Équateur en République Démocratique du Congo (Squamata: Viperidae). Bull. Soc. Herp. France 173: 27-40 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1860. Catalogue of the venomous serpents in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with notes on the families, genera and species. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1859: 332-347 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1862. Notes upon some reptiles of the Old World. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 14: 337-344 - get paper here
  • Dobiey, M. 2007. Atheris squamigera. Reptilia (Münster) 12 (68): 51-54 - get paper here
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Ernst R, Lautenschläger T, Branquima MF, Hölting M 2020. At the edge of extinction: a first herpetological assessment of the proposed Serra do Pingano Rainforest National Park in Uíge Province, northern Angola. Zoosystematics and Evolution 96(1): 237-262 - 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
  • Fischer, J. G. 1888. Über zwei neue Schlangen und einen neuen Laubfrosch von Kamerun. Jahrb. Hamburg. Wiss. Anst. 5: 1-10 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. 1896. Report on a collection of reptiles and fishes made by Miss M. H. Kingsley during her travels on the Ogowe river and in Old Calabar. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) 17: 261-267 - get paper here
  • Günther,A. 1863. On Atheris Burtonii, a new snake from West Africa. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 12: 239 - get paper here
  • Günther,A. 1863. On new species of snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 11: 20-25 - get paper here
  • Gutsche, A. 2014. Schlange, Spinne & Co. Der Reptilienzoo Happ in Klagenfurt. Reptilia (Münster) 19 (106): 64-68
  • Hallowell,E. 1854. Descriptions of new reptiles from Guinea. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 1854: 193-194 - 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
  • Herrmann, H. W.; Joger, U.; Lenk, P. & Wink, M. 1999. Morphological and molecular phylogenies of viperines: conflicting evidence? Kaupia (Darmstadt) (8): 21-30 - get paper here
  • Hoer, K. 2013. 27 Jahre Terrarianer – eine Zeitreise. Ophidia 7 (1): 25-33 - get paper here
  • Joger,U. & Courage,K. 1999. Are palearctic ‘rattlesnakes’ (Echis and Cerastes) monophyletic? Kaupia (Darmstadt) (8): 65-81
  • Kielgast, J. 2011. Atheris squamigera (Hallowell, 1854). Elaphe 19 (3): 64
  • Laita, Mark 2013. Serpentine. Abrams and PQ Blackwell, Auckland, New Zealand, 200 unnumbered pages
  • Lanoie, L.O.; Branch, W.R. 1991. Venoms and Snakebite: Atheris squamiger: Envenomation. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (39): 29-29 - get paper here
  • Laurent, R.F. 1956. Contribution à l'herpetologie de la région des Grandes Lacs de l'Afrique centrale. Ann. Mus. Roy. Congo Belge (Sci. Zool.), 48: 1-390
  • Laurent, R.F. 1958. Notes herpétologiques africaines II. Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 58 (1–2): 115–128
  • LAWSON, D. P., B. P. NOONAN & P. C. USTACH 2001. Atheris subocularis (Serpentes: Viperidae) revisited: molecular and morphological evidence for the resurrection of an enigmatic taxon. Copeia 2001 (3): 737-744 - get paper here
  • Lawson,D.P. & Ustach,P.C. 2000. A redescription of Atheris squamigera (Serpentes: Viperidae) with comments on the validity of Atheris anisolepis. Journal of Herpetology 34 (3): 386-389 - get paper here
  • Lillywhite, Harvey B. 2014. How Snakes Work: Structure, Function and Behavior of the World's Snakes. Oxford University Press, New York, 256 pp
  • Loveridge, A. 1936. African reptiles and amphibians in the Field Museum of Natural History. Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Chicago, 22 (1): 1-122 - get paper here
  • Loveridge, Arthur 1929. East African reptiles and amphibians in the United States National Museum. Bull. US Natl. Mus. (151): 1-135 - get paper here
  • Loveridge,A. 1933. Reports on the scientific Results of an Expedition to the Southwestem Highlands of Tanganyika Territory. VII. Herpetology. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 74: 197-415 - 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]
  • Marques, Mariana P.; Luis M. P. Ceríaco , David C. Blackburn , and Aaron M. Bauer 2018. Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola -- Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840–2017). Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (Ser. 4) 65: 1-501 (Supplement II)
  • Mavoungou, L. B., Jackson, K., & Goma-Tchimbakala, J. 2024. Snake species assemblages across habitat types in four departments of the Republic of Congo, with emphasis on medically-relevant venomous species. Heliyon, e33583 - 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.
  • 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
  • Milde, R. 2019. Da ist doch was im Busch – die Grüne Buschviper (Atheris squamigera) im Terrarium. Reptilia (Münster) 24 (137): 44-47 - get paper here
  • Mocquard,M.F. 1887. Sur les ophidiens rapportés du Congo par la Mission de Brazza. Bull. Soc. Philomath. Paris (7) 11: 62-92 - get paper here
  • Ota, H. & Hikida, T. 1987. On a small collection of lizards and snakes from Cameroon, West Africa. African Study Monographs 8 (2): 111-123 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Pauwels OSG, Morelle S, Albert J-L, Carlino P, Rahola N, Trape J-F. 2019. New reptile records from Lékédi Park and Haut-Ogooué Province, southeastern Gabon. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1) [General Section]: 143–161 (e174) - get paper here
  • Pauwels, O. S. G. B. Le Garff, I. Ineich, P. Carlino, I. Melcore, L. Boundenga, C. Vigna, T. Stévart, K. Jeffery, C. Orbell, J.-B. Squarcini, J. P. Vande weghe and L. J. T. White 2016. Miscellanea Herpetologica Gabonica V & VI. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 51: 177 - get paper here
  • Pauwels, O. S., & Colyn, M. 2023. On a Diverse Collection of Snakes from Amadjabe, Left Bank of the Congo River, Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society, 58(3), 34-47 - get paper here
  • Pauwels, O. S., & Colyn, M. 2023. On a Collection of Snakes from Bengamisa, Right Bank of the Congo River, Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society, 58(6), 81-92
  • Pauwels, O.S.G. & Vande Weghe, J.P. 2008. Les reptiles du Gabon. Smithsonian Institution, Washington: 272 pp. - get paper here
  • Pauwels, O.S.G.; Kamdem Toham, A. & Chimsunchart, C. 2002. Recherches sur l’herpétofaune du Massif du Chaillu, Gabon. Bull. Inst. Roy. Sci. Nat. Belgique (Biologie) 72: 47-57 - get paper here
  • Perret, J.L. 1961. Études herpétologiques africaines III. 1. La faune ophidienne de la région camerounaise. Bull. Soc. neuchâtel. Sci. nat., 84: 133-138
  • Phelps, T. 2010. Old World Vipers. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 558 pp. [critical review in Sauria 33 (3): 19 and HR 43: 503]
  • Pitman,C.R.S. 1974. A guide to the snakes of Uganda. Codicote, Wheldon & Wesley, L., 290 pp.
  • Portik DM, Jongsma GFM, Kouete MT, Scheinberg LA, Freiermuth B, Tapondjou WP, Blackburn DC. 2016. A survey of amphibians and reptiles in the foothills of Mount Kupe, Cameroon. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10(2) [Special Section]: 37–67 (e131)
  • Rochebrune, A. T. de 1885. Vertebratonum novorum vel minus cognitorum orae Africae occidentalis in colarum. Bull. Soc. philom. Paris 9: 86-99 - get paper here
  • SÁNCHEZ-VIALAS, A., CALVO-REVUELTA, M. & DE LA RIVA, I. 2022. Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea. Zootaxa 5202 (1): 1-197 - get paper here
  • SANTOS, B. S. .,MARQUES, M. P. ., BAUER, A. M. ., & CERÍACO, L. M. P. . 2021. Herpetological results of Francisco Newton’s Zoological Expedition to Angola (1903–1906): a taxonomic revision and new records of a forgotten collection. Zootaxa 5028 (1): 1–80 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, K. P. 1923. Contributions to the herpetology of the Belgian Congo based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition, 1909-1915. Part II. Snakes, with field notes by Herbert Lang and James P. Chapin. Bull. Amer. Mus. nat. Hist. 49 (1): 1-146 - get paper here
  • Segniagbeto GLazcano. H., Trape J. F., David P., Ohler A., Dubois A. & Glitho I. A. 2011. The snake fauna of Togo: systematics, distribution and biogeography, with remarks on selected taxonomic problems. Zoosystema 33 (3): 325-360. DOI: 10.5252/z2011n3a4 - 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, Stephen; Tomáš Mazuch & Abubakr Mohammad 2023. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-east Africa. Bloomsbury, 640 pp. - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Trape, J.-F. 2023. Guide des serpents d’Afrique occidentale, centrale et d’Afrique du Nord. IRD Éditions, Marseille, 896 pp.
  • Trape, J.F. & R. ROUX-ESTÈVE 1995. Les serpents du Congo: liste commentée et clé de détermination. Journal of African Zoology 109 (1): 31-50
  • TRAPE, JEAN-FRANÇOIS & CELLOU BALDÉ 2014. A checklist of the snake fauna of Guinea, with taxonomic changes in the genera Philothamnus and Dipsadoboa (Colubridae) and a comparison with the snake fauna of some other West African countries. Zootaxa 3900 (3): 301–338 - get paper here
  • Ullenbruch, Klaus & Wolfgang Böhme 2017. Six new records of Afrotropical lizard and snake species (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Republic of South Sudan. Bonn zoological Bulletin 66 (2): 139–144 - 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.
  • Wirth, M. 2011. TERRARIENSCHAUANLAGEN Das Paradies der Ungeliebten – der Reptilienzoo Scheidegg. Reptilia (Münster) 16 (88): 80 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Atheris&species=squamigera

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator