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Bitis caudalis (SMITH, 1839)

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Horned Adder
G: Gehörnte Puffotter 
SynonymVipera (Cerastes) caudalis SMITH 1839: 7
Vipera ocellata SMITH 1838: 92
Vipera (Cerastes) caudalis — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 1446
Vipera caudalis — BOETTGER 1886: 6
Bitis caudalis — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958
Bitis caudalis — HARDING & WELCH 1980
Bitis caudalis — AUERBACH 1987: 205
Bitis caudalis — WELCH 1994: 27
Bitis (Calechidna) caudalis — LENK et al. 1999
Bitis caudalis — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 361
Bitis caudalis — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007
Bitis (Calechidna) caudalis — WITTENBERG et al. 2014
Bitis caudalis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 92
Bitis (Calechidna) caudalis — BARLOW et al. 2019 
DistributionNamibia, SW Angola, Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, S Zambia

Type locality: sandy districts north of the Cape Colony.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesSyntypes: BMNH 1865.5.4.15a-e; note in BMNH catalogue states that 1865.5.4.15e agrees well with original description. 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1773 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Behavior: A small adder that puts up a bold fierce front when disturbed by writhing and hissing loudly. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • 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
  • Barts, M. 2004. Dickfingergeckos - Pachydactylus turneri & Pachydactylus bibronii. Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster, 61 pp. - get paper here
  • Barts, Mirko 2018. Ein kleiner Reiseführer zu den Reptilien und Amphibien Namibias. Draco 16 (64): 6-23 [2015] - get paper here
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  • Bauer, A.M., and Branch, W.R. 2003. The herpetofauna of the Richtersveld National Park, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. Herpetological Natural History 8: 111-160 [2001]
  • Bauer, Aaron M.; Branch, William R. & Haacke, Wulf D. 1993. The herpetofauna of the Kamanjab area and adjacent Damaraland, Namibia. Madoqua (Windhoek) 18 (2): 117-145. - get paper here
  • Boettger, O. 1886. Beitrag zur Herpetologie und Malakozoologie Südwest-Afrikas. 1. Zur Kenntniss der Fauna von Angra Pequenia. Abh. senckenb. naturf. Ges. (Frankfurt) 1886: 3-29 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Branch, William R. 1994. Herpetofauna of the Sperrgebeit [sic] Region of Southern Namibia. Herpetological Natural History 2 (1): 1-11.
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  • Broadley, D.G. 1959. The herpetology of Southern Rhodesia. Part I--the snakes. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 120 (1): 1-100 [reprint 1972] - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1972. The Horned Viper Bitis caudalis (A. Smith) in the Central Kalahari. Botswana Notes & Records 4: 263–264
  • Calvete, J.J.; Escolano, J.; Sanz, L. 2007. Snake venomics of bitis species reveals large intragenus venom toxin composition variation: application to taxonomy of congeneric taxa. Journal of Proteome Research 6(7):2732-2745 - get paper here
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  • DeNardo, D.F., J.V. Luna & M. Hwang 2002. Ambient Temperature Activity of Horned Adders, Bitis caudalis: How Cold is Too Cold? Journal of Herpetology 36 (4): 688-691. - get paper here
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  • Duméril, A. M. C., Bibron, G. & DUMÉRIL, A. H. A., 1854. Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie, comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris, Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret: i-xii + 781-1536 - get paper here
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  • Haagner, G. V. 1987. Life History Note: Bitis caudalis: Reproduction. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (33): 38-38 - get paper here
  • Hauke, Tobias 2018. Namibia – Eindrücke während der Regenzeit. Draco 16 (64): 50-59 [2015] - get paper here
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  • Hoffmann, L. 1988. Note On The Ecology Of The Horned Adder, Bitis caudalis From Gobabeb, Namib - Naukluft Park. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (35): 33-34 - get paper here
  • Hörold, Ralf 2020. Haltung und Nachzucht von Lepidodactylus lugubris (DUMERIL & BIBRON, 1836) als Aufzuchtfutter für Echsen fressende Schlangen. Ophidia 14 (1): 2-14
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  • Lenk,P.; Herrmann,H. W.; Joger,U. & Wink,M. 1999. Phylogeny and taxonomic subdivision of Bitis (Reptilia: Viperidae) based on molecular evidence. Kaupia (Darmstadt) (8): 31-38 - get paper here
  • Lobón-Rovira J, Vaz Pinto P, S. Becker F, Tolley KA, Measey J, Bennet B, Boon B, de Sá S, Conradie W 2022. An updated herpetofaunal species inventory of Iona National Park in southwestern Angola. Check List 18(2): 289-321 - get paper here
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  • 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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