Bitis (Macrocerastes) gabonica (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)

Marques, Mariana P., Parrinha, Diogo, Lopes-Lima, Manuel, Tiutenko, Arthur, Bauer, Aaron M. & Ceríaco, Luis M. P., 2024, An island in a sea of sand: a first checklist of the herpetofauna of the Serra da Neve inselberg, southwestern Angola, ZooKeys 1201, pp. 167-217 : 167-217

Bitis (Macrocerastes) gabonica (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)

Fig. 10 b

Record.

Catchi surroundings [precise locality unknown] (MUNHAC / MB 03 - 001535).

Comments.

The Gaboon viper is an African viperid with a primarily west and central African distribution, while some populations extend marginally into northern Zambia. Isolated populations exist from southern South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, and the KwaZulu-Natal region of eastern South Africa ( Spawls et al. 2023; Marques et al. 2018). In Angola, the species has been recorded mainly in northern and central areas of the country, with the southwestern-most record in Central Benguela ( Marques et al. 2018). The Serra da Neve population thus represents the southwestern-most record of the species and the first record for Namibe Province. Our specimen was killed by locals when crossing a path early in the morning. The local name for this species is M’buta, which is also used for other large viperids such as the Puff-adder, Bitis arietans Merrem, 1820 ( Ceríaco and Marques 2021).

Figures

Figure 10. a Python natalensis (skin) b Bitis (Macrocerastes) gabonica c Causus nasalis d Boaedon variegatus e Hemirhagerrhis viperina f Lycophidion hellmichi g Psammophis subtaeniatus. Photographs by LMPC (a, c, f); AT (d, e, g) and DP (b).