Bitis Rubida
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The red adder (''Bitis rubida'') 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 found only in
Western Cape Province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
, South Africa. No subspecies are currently recognised. Like all other 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 ...
.


Taxonomy

''Bitis rubida'' was described as a new species in 1997 by William Roy "Bill" Branch. Prior to that time, specimens of this snake had been identified as belonging to several other species and subspecies of the
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Bitis'' (see "Synonyms" in "Taxobox"). The type locality given is "Jeep track above Farm Driehoek, Cederberg Mountains, Western Cape Province, South Africa; 32°25'44"S, 19°12'30"E, alt. 1380 m ,528 ft 3219AC." The common name is "red adder".Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .''


Description

Maximum recorded total lengths (body + tail) are for females and for males.


Distribution and habitat

Several isolated populations are found in the northern
Cape Fold Mountains The Cape Fold Belt is a fold and thrust belt of late Paleozoic age, which affected the sequence of Sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock layers of the Cape Supergroup in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It was originally continuous with t ...
and inland escarpment in
Western Cape Province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.


References


Further reading

* Branch WR. 1997. A new adder (''Bitis''; Viperidae) from the Western Cape Province, South Africa. ''South African Journal of Zoology'' 32 (2): 37-42. * Branch, Bill. 2004. ''Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Bitis rubida'', p. 117 + Plate 14).


External links

*
''Bitis rubida'' image
a
ARKive, Reptiles
Accessed 2 October 2006. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1017602 Bitis Endemic reptiles of South Africa Snakes of Africa Reptiles described in 1997 Taxa named by William Roy Branch