Bitis gabonica rhinoceros

| Main Article
| Discussion
| Related Articles  [?]
| Bibliography  [?]
| External Links  [?]
| Citable Version  [?]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

[edit intro]

The content on this page originated on Wikipedia and is yet to be significantly improved. Contributors are invited to replace and add material to make this an original article.
Bitis gabonica rhinoceros

Scientific classification
| Kingdom:  | Animalia

|

Phylum:  | Chordata

Subphylum:  | Vertebrata

Class:  | Reptilia

Order:  | Squamata

Suborder:  | Serpentes

Family:  | Viperidae

Subfamily:  | Viperinae

Genus:  | Bitis

Species:  | B. gabonica

Subspecies:  | B. g. rhinoceros

Trinomial name
Bitis gabonica rhinoceros
(Schlegel, 1855)
Synonyms

* Vipera rhinoceros \- Schlegel, 1855
* Echidna rhinoceros \- Duméril, 1856
* C[lotho]. rhinoceros - Cope, 1860
* V[ipera]. (Echidna) rhinoceros \- Jan, 1863
* Vipera (Bitis) rhinoceros \- Peters, 1877
* Bitis rhinoceros \- Peters, 1882
* Bitis gabonica rhinoceros \- Mertens, 1951[1]

Common names: West African gaboon viper.[2]

Bitis gabonica rhinoceros is a venomous viper subspecies[3] found in West Africa. It is distinguished from the nominate subspecies primarily by the the presence of a set of large nasal horns.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Description
* 2 Geographic range
* 3 See also
* 4 Cited references
* 5 External links

## Description[edit]

B. g. rhinoceros has a distinctive set of enlarged nasal scales that look like a pair of horns on its nose. This is a characteristic that it shares with a close relative, B. nascornis, but B. nasicornis has a brighter color pattern and a narrower head.[4] B. g. gabonica has no such enlarged nasal horns, and is overall somewhat smaller than B. g. rhinoceros. Also, in B. g. gabonica, the dark triangular marking leading back from the eye towards the angle of the mouth is divided, whereas in B. g. rhinoceros it is not.

## Geographic range[edit]

Found in West Africa from Ghana west to Guinea, including Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast. Togo is also mentioned.[1][2][4][5]

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. g. gabonica. The distribution map they provide indicates that the general range for B. g. rhinoceros does not include Togo, but that there has been at least one report of a specimen found there.[4] Togo, together with Benin and at least eastern Ghana, are part of a larger region known as the Dahomey Gap; a relatively dry region that separates the rainforests of West Africa from those of Central Africa.[6][7]

## See also[edit]

* Bitis gabonica.
* List of viperine species and subspecies.
* True vipers - Common names.
* True vipers - Synonymy.
* Snakebite.

## Cited references[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
3. ↑ Bitis gabonica rhinoceros (TSN 634952) at Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed 4 April 2007.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
5. ↑ Species Bitis gabonica at the Species2000 Database
6. ↑ Comparative Phylogeography of Reptiles and Amphibians in West Africa  at Homepage, Adam D. Leaché - Ph.D Candidate. Accessed 7 August 2006.
7. ↑ Salzmann, Ulrich, Hoelzmann, Philipp. 2005. The Dahomey Gap: an abrupt climatically induced rain forest fragmentation in West Africa during the late Holocene. The Holocene, Volume 15, Number 2, February 2005, pp. 190-199(10).

## External links[edit]

* YouTube Video of B. g. rhinoceros feeding Accessed 9 December 2006.