:''Common names: West African Gaboon viper, Gabino viperMallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .'' ''Bitis rhinoceros'' is 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 tha ...

species

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 elsew ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. Like all vipers, it is

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 sti ...

. It can be easily distinguished from the closely related species '' B. gabonica'' by the presence of two large nasal "horns".

Description

''Bitis rhinoceros'' has a distinctive set of enlarged

nasal scales In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Sometimes this ...

that look like a pair of horns on its nose. This is a characteristic that it shares with a close relative, '' B. nasicornis''. However, ''B. nasicornis'' has a brighter color pattern and a narrower head.Spawls S, Branch B. (1995). ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Dubai: Ralph Curtis Books. Oriental Press. 192 pp. . ''B. gabonica'' has no such enlarged nasal "horns", and is overall somewhat smaller than ''B. rhinoceros''. Also, in ''B. g. gabonica'', the dark triangular marking leading back from the eye towards the angle of the mouth is divided. In ''B. rhinoceros'' it is not.

Geographic range

''B. rhinoceros'' is found in

from

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

west to

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and possibly to

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

, including the intervening countries (

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

). According to Spawls & Branch (1995), Ghana and Togo are at the eastern limit of the range of this subspecies, and they begin to intergrade here with ''B. gabonica''. The distribution map they provide indicates that the general range for ''B. rhinoceros'' does not include Togo, but that there has been at least one report of a specimen found there. The distribution of B. rhinoceros now includes Nigeria. Residents of Ota, a small community in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria sighted one in 2022. Togo, together with

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

and at least eastern Ghana, are part of a larger region known as the

Dahomey Gap In West Africa, the Dahomey Gap refers to the portion of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic that extends all the way to the coast in Benin, Togo, and Ghana, thus separating the forest zone that covers much of the south of the region into two separat ...

; a relatively dry region that separates the rainforests of West Africa from those of Central Africa.

References

External links

* . Accessed 9 December 2006. * . Accessed 3 July 2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2904907

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

Snakes of Africa Reptiles of West Africa Reptiles described in 1855 Taxa named by Hermann Schlegel

Description

Geographic range

References

Further reading

External links