Bitis arietans arietans (Merrem, 1820)
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.13270281 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DAE649-EF1E-951D-FF3D-FC87C4BFF9B6 |
treatment provided by |
Felipe |
scientific name |
Bitis arietans arietans (Merrem, 1820) |
status |
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Bitis arietans arietans (Merrem, 1820) View in CoL (two specimens)
Material: CamHerp 0694C (Veko village, 6.139°N and 10.578°E, elev. 2,044 m, coll. CamHerp M. LeBreton, July 8, 2002) – CamHerp 3523I (Jakiri village along the road from Bamenda to Nkambe, 6.055°N and 10.658°E, elev. 1,550 m, coll. CamHerp M. LeBreton, December 14, 2002) GoogleMaps .
This big and massive snake has a pan-African distribution, and is also found on the Arabian Peninsula. It frequents forest-savanna mosaics, the Western Highlands, and all types of savannas (high, Sudanese, and Sahelian). It lives at ground level and bites are frequent, making it a feared snake. It occupies elevation areas up to 2,044 m in the village of Veko in the BH. Its wide distribution in Africa was largely influenced by the occupation of climatic refuges during periods of glaciation ( Barlow et al. 2013). Other altitude populations exist such as those of the East African Mountain Arc or of the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa ( Phelps 2010; Barlow et al. 2013). The altitudinal record for the species is around 2,200 m but the species seems able to occur even higher, up to 2,400 m ( Spawls et al. 2002; Largen and Spawls 2010).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.