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Atheris anisolepis MOCQUARD, 1887

IUCN Red List - Atheris anisolepis - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mayombe Bush-Viper 
SynonymAtheris anisolepis MOCQUARD 1887: 89
Atheris laeviceps BOETTGER 1887: 651
Atheris laeviceps — SCHMIDT 1923: 145
Atheris squamigera anisolepis — BOGERT 1940
Atheris laeviceps — TRAPE & ROUX-ESTÈVE 1995: 45
Atheris anisolepis — BROADLEY 1998: 128
Atheris anisolepis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 60
Atheris laeviceps — TRAPE 2023: 254 
DistributionS Gabon, S Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), W Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire)

Type locality: Alima [River], Leketi, Congo.  
Reproductionviviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022). Juveniles are usually found in July-August. Gestation is ca. 7 months. 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 1886.0242; paralectotype: MNHN-RA 1886.0243 (Leketi), MNHN-RA 1886.0368 (Franceville, Gabon) 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3205 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Subspecies and synonymy: The name was placed in the synonymy of A. squamigera by Boulenger(1896), but was revived as a subspecies by Bogert(1940) and again removed from synonymy with A. squamigera by BROADLEY 1998 but then again synonymized by LAWSON & USTACH (2000). Collet & Trape 2020 discuss the possibility that Atheris laeviceps BOETTGER 1887 may have priority over Atheris anisolepis MOCQUARD 1887.

Distribution: Not in Angola fide Marques et al. 2018. The type locality was originally given as “near the river Gabon, Guinea”.

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

Diet: frogs, lizards, small mammals, possibly newly hatched birds. 
EtymologyNamed after the Greek roots aniso-, an adjective meaning "unequal" or "uneven," and lepis, a noun meaning "scale." 
References
  • 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. 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
  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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
  • Günther,A. 1863. On Atheris Burtonii, a new snake from West Africa. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (3) 12: 239 - get paper here
  • Gutsche, A. 2014. Schlange, Spinne & Co. Der Reptilienzoo Happ in Klagenfurt. Reptilia (Münster) 19 (106): 64-68
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  • 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
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  • 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
  • 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
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  • Mocquard, F. 1887. Sur les ophidiens rapportés du Congo par la Mission de Brazza. Bull. Soc. Philomath. Paris (7) 11: 62-92 - get paper here
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  • 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.
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  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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