:''Common names: Usambara bush viper,Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . horned bush viper, eyelash bush viper, more.'' ''Atheris ceratophora'' is a

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...

viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs th ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to a few mountain ranges in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. This used to be the only horned, arboreal viper known from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, until the discovery in 2011 of ''Atheris matildae'', also found in Tanzania. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Description

It grows to a maximum total length (body + tail) of . Females are slightly larger than males. The maximum total length for a male is reported to be , the tail of which measured .Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . Easily recognized by a set of 3-5 horn-like superciliary scales above each eye. The

rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: ...

is more than twice as broad as high. There are 9

upper labials In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ...

. The first 3 lower labials on each side are in contact with the one pair of chin shields. Midbody, the

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

number 21-25. The ventral scale count is 142-152. There are 41-56

subcaudals In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...

. The color pattern consists of a yellowish-green, olive, gray or black ground color. This may or may not be overlaid by variable markings, sometimes in the form of irregular black spots or cross-bars that may be lined with yellow or white spots. The belly is dirty orange to almost black in color, sometimes with dark spots.

Common names

Usambara bush viper, horned bush viper, eyelash bush viper, Usambara mountain bush viper, horned tree viper, Usambara tree viper.Brown JH. 1973. ''Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes''. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. .

Geographic range

It is found in the

Usambara The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tang ...

and Uzungwe Mountains in

. It is probably also found in the

Uluguru Mountains The Uluguru mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. The main portion of the Uluguru mountains is a ridge running roughly north-south and rising to altitude at its highest point. On the main Uluguru ra ...

. The

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

is "Usambara" Mountains anzania

Habitat

Found in grass and low bushes about above the ground in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s and

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s at altitudes of .

Behavior

Like other ''Atheris'' species, it is probably active mainly at night, or at dawn or dusk.

Gallery

File:Atheris ceratophora Werner, 1896 3314773076.jpg, Specimen part of the collection of the

Natural History Museum of Denmark The Natural History Museum of Denmark ( da, Statens Naturhistoriske Museum) is a natural history museum located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was created as a 1 January 2004 merger of Copenhagen's Zoological Museum This is a list of natural his ...

File:Atheris ceratophora Werner, 1896 3314773076 2.jpg File:Atheris ceratophora 188224807.jpg, Field observation in

File:Atheris ceratophora 188224791.jpg

References

External links

''Atheris ceratophora''
a
Corallus.com
Accessed 8 October 2006.

a
Baumpython.com
Accessed 8 October 2006. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2699593

ceratophora ''Ceratophora'' is a genus of agamid lizards found in Sri Lanka. The male has a horn on its snout. Description The tympanum is hidden, and the body is more or less laterally compressed, and covered with unequal scales. No dorsal crest is p ...

Snakes of Africa Reptiles of Tanzania Endemic fauna of Tanzania Reptiles described in 1895