Atheris katangensis DE WITTE, 1953
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Atheris katangensis
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| Higher Taxa | Viperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Katanga Mountain Bush Viper |
| Synonym | Atheris katangensis DE WITTE 1953: 301 Atheris katangensis — WELCH 1994: 21 Atheris katangensis — BROADLEY 1998: 125 Atheris katangensis — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 356 Atheris katangensis — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007 Atheris katangensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 62 Atheris katangensis — PIETERSEN et al. 2021 |
| Distribution | S Democratic Republic of the Congo (= Zaire: Katanga), Zambia Type locality: Mubale-Munte, Upemba National Park, Zaire. |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous |
| Types | Holotype: IRSNB 2207 |
| Diagnosis | Description. Rostral three times as broad as deep, surmounted by three suprarostrals, the outer ones largest (the middle one may be split into three,two small ones below a larger one: Fig. 1h); 5 or 6 slightly rugose internasals Nasals separated from eye by 2 or 3 scales. Dorsal and lateral headshields strongly keeled, keels terminating in a knob, 9-11 interorbital scales and 20-22 across back of head between posterior supralabials. Eye moderate, its vertical diameter subequal to its distance from the lip, usually separated from the 9-12 supralabials only by the 14-17 circumorbitals. Mental about one and a half times as wide as long, infralabials 11, the flrst pair in contact behind the mental, followed by a pair of large sublinguals and five rows of gulars (the outer ones keeled) anterior to the first ventral. Dorsals keeled and pointed, the keel terminating at the tip, 23-31 rows at midbody lateral rows often duplicated and rows 4-6 very feebly serrated; ventrals 133-144; subcaudals 38-49 (Broadley 1998). Colouration. Pale brown to olive or purple brown above, with a vertebral series of dark-bordered and dark-centred yellowish rhombic markings, tail tip yellow. Ventrum yellow anteriorly, sometimes becoming grey-green posteriorly,about every third ventral with a yellow lateral spot and a few ventrals with short black transverse bars (Broadley 1998). |
| Comment | Venomous! Habitat: trees (arboreal) |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality. |
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