Causus rhombeatus (Lichtenstein, 1923)

Baptista, Ninda L., António, Telmo & Branch, William R., 2019, The herpetofauna of Bicuar National Park and surroundings, southwestern Angola: a preliminary checklist, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 203) 13 (2), pp. 96-130 : 121

Causus rhombeatus (Lichtenstein, 1923)

Rhombic Night Adder ( Fig. 36 )

Material: Photographic record from Handa Farm (J. Traguedo, HF).

Comment: The taxonomy of night adders in Angola has long been confusing (Branch 2018). Causus bilineatus was described from a variety of C. rhombeatus by Boulenger (1905), but synonymies and species validity remained problematic until a recent revision by Rasmussen (2005), who reassessed C. bilineatus and related species, mapped the geographic distribution of Angolan night adders, and provided a key to the genus. Scale counts could not be made on the specimen from Handa Farm, although the photographed snake had a very conspicuous V-shaped marking on the head, 25 well-separated dark conspicuous rhombic vertebral markings occasionally with a white contour against a paler background, and lacked dorsolateral stripes ( Fig. 36 ). It was therefore assigned to C. rhombeatus , which is widespread in Angola ( Rasmussen 2005; Marques et al. 2018).

Figures

Fig. 36. Causus rhombeatus, Handa Farm (Photo by J. Traguedo).