Bitis heraldica (BOCAGE, 1889)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Bitis heraldica?
Bitis heraldica
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| Higher Taxa | Viperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Angolan adder; Bocage's Horned Adder (after FRANK & RAMUS 1995). |
| Synonym | Vipera heraldica BOCAGE 1889 Bitis heraldica — HARDING & WELCH 1980 Bitis heraldica — WELCH 1994: 27 Bitis heraldica — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 364 Bitis heraldica — DOBIEY & VOGEL 2007 Bitis (Calechidna) heraldica — WITTENBERG et al. 2014 Bitis heraldica — WALLACH et al. 2014: 93 Bitis (Calechidna) heraldica — BARLOW et al. 2019 Bitis (Macrocerastes) heraldica — CERIACO et al. 2020 |
| Distribution | C Angola Type locality: “affluents du Cunene, entre Ie 13° et 14° parallele al'est de Caconda." [Calai River (tributary of the Kunene), Cacanda, Angola]. |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous |
| Types | Holotype: MB 2127 (Museu Bocage, destroyed). |
| Diagnosis | Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (634 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Venomous! Synonymy: Sometimes considered to be synonymous with Bitis peringueyi BOULENGER 1896. Photo in KUCHARZEWSKI 2011. This species is hornless. Distribution: see map in Ceriaco et al. 2020: Fig. 1. |
| Etymology | The word heráldica is borrowed from the French word héraldique, which means "heraldic". Heraldry is the practice of devising, blazoning, and granting armorial insignia. In Latin it comes from the Latin word heraldus. It references the unique pattern of the head of the species which resembles a specific symbol which appeared on the coat-of-arms in France. Per Bocage's original description, "Le dessus de la tête se fait remarquer par un dessin fort complique dont la pièce centrale rapelle le symbole héraldique de la fleur de lys [The top of the head is distinguished by a very complicated design, the central piece of which recalls the heraldic symbol of the fleur-de-lys]". (The fleur-de-lis was the symbol of Île-de-France, the core of the French kingdom. It has appeared on the coat-of-arms of other historical provinces of France.) [courtesy of Masud Salimian] |
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