Central and Southern Africa 



nah and grasslands, but preferrinR damp areas. From 

 Sudan and Somalia to Angola in the west, and along 

 the eastern Cape to its tip. 



Rrmarlcs: This nocturnal viper is usuall.y inoffensive 

 and most bites are a result of persons stepping on the 

 snake in the dark. The venom is not of higli toxicity 

 and a bite usually results in nothing more than local 

 swelling and pain. If teased, the adder flattens the 

 ncik. puffs up the bod.v aiul hisses loudly, striking out 

 wildly at any moving object. No antivcinu is produced 

 for this gidup of vipers. 



VIPERIDAE: Genus Ec/i/s Merrem, 1820. 

 Siuv-sciiled vipers. 



Two si)ecies are recognized. One (/v. cfiloraliix) is 

 reslriclcil In c;islci-ii Kgypl. the .\raliiaii I'ciiinsula. and 

 Isiacl. The other iE. cfiriiiatKs ) ranges from Ceylon 

 and scjutliern India across western Asia and north 

 Africa soutlnvard into tropical Africa. Altliough neither 

 attains a length of .3 feet, the.v possess a highly toxic 

 venom and are responsible for many deaths. When dis- 

 turbed they characteristically inltate the body and pro- 

 duce a hissing .sound by rubbing the saw-edged lateral 

 scales against one another. This same pattern of be- 

 havior is sliijun liy I lie noniioisonous egg-eating snakes 

 Ddsiiiii ilia. 



DcfiiiiliDii : Ilcail limad. very dislincl frnni narrow 

 neck; canlluis indistinct. Body cylindrical, moderatel.v 

 slender: tail short. (See p. s:? and lig. ."ilM. 



Eyes moderate in size; pupils vertically elliptical. 



Head scales: A narrow s\ipraocular sometimes pres- 

 ent : otherwise crown covered with small scales, which 

 may lie smooth or keeled. Rostral and nasals distinct. 

 Laterally eye separated from labials by 1— t rows of 

 small scales; nasal in <'ontact with rostral or separated 

 from it by a row of small scales. 



l?o(ly scales: Dorsals keeled, with apical jiits. lateral 

 .scales smaller, with serrate keels, in 27.37 obli(iue rows 

 at midliody. \'entrals roundi'd, 1.32-20.") ; subcaudals 

 single. 21-.-2. 



VIPERIDAE: Genus Vipera Laurenti, 1768. 

 Title addeis. 



Eleven species are recognized. This is an especially 

 variable grii\iii. with snnie nicTiilicrs llial are snniU and 

 relatively innocuous (e.g., T. Ikiks) and others that are 

 extremely dangerous (T'. Ichrtiiid. ^'. i-KsxcUi). They 

 are found from northern Eurasia thrnughout tliat con- 

 tinent and into ni>rth Africa. One species ranges intn 

 the East Indies ( 1'. nisuclii), and two are found in east 

 Africa (see Remarks under V. sKiicrciliaris) . 



Dc/iiiitioii: Head broad, distinct from narrow neck; 

 canthus distinct. Body cylindrical, varying from mod- 

 erately .slender to stimt ; tail short. 



Eyes moderate in size to small : jiupils verticall.v el- 

 liptical. 



Head scales: Variable: one species (T. iir.shiii) has 

 all 1) crown scutes, most species have at least the supra- 



oculars, but even these are absent in one (T. Ichcthia) : 

 head otherwise covered with small scales. Laterally, 

 nasal in contact with rostral or separated by a single 

 enlarged scale fthe nasorostral), eye separated from 

 supralabials by 1— t rows of small scales. 



Body scales : Dor.sals keeled, with apical pits, in 19- 

 .31 nonoblique rows at midbody. Ventrals rounded, 120- 

 180; subcaudals paired, 20-C4. 



African Lowland Viper, Vipera sitperciUaris 

 Peters. 



Identificalion: The only viper in central Africa with 

 .supraocular plates but with the remainder of the crown 

 covered with small scales, .\dults average about 20 

 to 24 inches in length. 



Eyes moderate in size ; snout rounded with distinct 

 canthus. 



Head with symmetrical black markings; body pale 

 reddish-brown with a vertebral row of black crossbars 

 wliidi are broken laterally by an interrupted yellowish 

 stripe. Ventral surface white with black spots. 



Head covered with small imbricate keeled scales ex- 

 cept for the large supraoculars. Dorsals in 26-30 rows 

 at midbody. Ventrals 142-159; subcaudals 32-43. 



Dixtribiitimi: Lowland areas of Tanzania (near Lake 

 X.vasa ) and Mnzambii|ue. 



I'cmarlK: Xn bites by this snake have been reported. 

 It is a rare snake in collections and its relationships 

 (together with that of T. Iiiiulii Boulenger) are still in 

 dispute. Kramer ( 19(!1 ) believes that these two vipers 

 are closely related to the desert-dwelling members of the 

 genus Bitis (e.g., B. raudalix), while Marx and Rabb 

 (190."i) believe that they represent a terrestrial branch 

 of the genus Atlirris. 



REFERENCES 

 {See also General /References) 



AXGEL, F. 1933. T>es serpents <le rAfrifpie oc- 

 cideiitale FnuK-iiise. T>arose Ed., Paris. 

 246 p.. 83 figs. 



KOCiEKT, diaries M. 1040. Ilerpetoloiriral Re- 

 sults of the Veriiay Angola Expedition, with 

 Notes on .\fri(;in Kejitilcs in Other Collec- 

 tions. Part I. Snakes. Tncliidinir tin Ar- 

 r;inoenient of African Colnbridue. Bnll. 

 Aiuer. Mils. Nat. ITist., 77 (Art 1) : 1-107, 

 Ho-s. 1-lS. pi. 1. 



BOGERT. Charles M. l!)4-i. Pseudohaje Gim- 

 ther. -V Valid Genns for Two "West African 

 Arboreal Cobras. Anier. Mus. Novitates 

 (1174): 1-9, figs. 1-8. 



liROADLEY. Donald G. 1959. The Herpeto- 

 logy of Southern Rhodesia. Part 1. Snakes. 

 Bull. Mus. Conip. Zool., 120 (1) : 1-100, figs. 

 1-10, pis. 1-0. 



103 



