Interesting Facts
[ Back to top ]
- The rhinoceros viper is one of three species of puff adders. Some reasons these venomous snakes are called puff adders are that, when excited, they have the ability to enlarge their size considerably by inflating their bodies. This creates the "puffed" look that is approximately twice the normal size of the snake's body. These adders also make a sort of hissing noise through their nose as part of their respiratory function.
- Bitis nasicornis is considered to be one of the most dangerous snakes of Africa. Small doses of the snake's hemotoxic venom can be deadly. This is unlike the gaboon viper, the largest of the vipers, who uses a considerably larger amount of venom. Bitis nasicornis has both neurotoxic, as well as hemotoxic venom, as do most other venomous snakes. The hemotoxic venom in rhinoceros vipers is much more dominant. This venom attacks the circulatory system of the snake's victim, destroying tissue and blood vessels . Internal bleeding also occurs. When not in use, the rhino viper's fangs are folded up into the roof of the snake's mouth . The snake has the ability to control the movement of its fangs. Simply because the rhino viper may open its mouth does not mean that the fangs will flip down into place. These fangs penetrate deep into the victim and the small doses of venom flow through the hollow fangs into the wound.
- The rhinoceros viper is generally somewhat slow in locomotion. This snake will not usually bite unless provoked or hungry. When the rhino viper does get excited it can strike faster than the blink of an eye with extremely deadly accuracy. Bitis can strike in any direction with equal speed . "Their striking range is surprisingly long, sometimes as long as half the snake's length ." As with other snakes, the rhino viper uses its scales for movement. Stretching its skin across its ribs , then releasing tension gives the rhino viper the ability to slither across the jungle floor quite efficiently.
Common Names
[ Back to top ]
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in English:
Rhinoceros Adder, Rhinoceros Viper
Common Names in German:
Nashornviper
Description
[ Back to top ]
Physical Description
Species Bitis nasicornis
The rhinoceros viper, also called the river jack , can grow to be somewhat large in size. Adults normally grow to be 2 to 4 feet in length . One source even cites them as being able to reach up to 7 feet in length! The head of this animal is considerably smaller in size than its body. The rhinoceros viper's head is one of its most distinguishing characteristics. The rhino viper's head is in a triangular shape . There are 2 or 3 "horns" above each nostril. The coloration of the rhinoceros viper is incredible. Because of the various patterns and colors, the rhino viper has often been regarded as one of the most beautiful snakes in the world (see the above picture). Coloration in the rhinoceros viper is an adaptive feature. The degree of light and dark colors of this snake depends on its habitat . This wetland species of adders has darker colors which allow it to blend well with the jungle floor where it would most likely be found.
Size/Age/Growth
2 to 4 feet in length
Habitat
Wetlands and tropical forest
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,749 meters (0 to 5,738 feet).[1]
Taxonomy
[ Back to top ]
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
()
- (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Chordata
()
- Bateson, 1885
- Chordates
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
()
- Cuvier, 1812
- Vertebrates
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
()
- Auct.
- Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
()
- Goodrich, 1930
- Class:
Reptilia
()
- Reptiles
- Subclass:
Diapsida
()
- Infraclass:
Lepidosauromorpha
()
- Superorder:
Lepidosauria
()
-
- Superorder:
Lepidosauria
(
- Infraclass:
Lepidosauromorpha
(
- Subclass:
Diapsida
(
- Class:
Reptilia
(
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Bitis /i> (Macrocerastes) Nasicornis — Lenk Et Al. 1999
- Bitis nasicornis — Mcdiarmid, Campbell & TourÉ 1999: 364
- Bitis nasicornis — RÖdel & Mahsberg 2000
- Bitis nasicornis — Schmidt 1923: 143
- Bitis nasicornis – Boulenger 1896: 500
- Bitis nasicornis – BÜttikofer 1890
- Cerastes nasicornis — WAGLER /i> (Fide Hallowell 1857: 62)
- Clotho nasicornis ? Gray 1842: 69
- Clotho nasicornis – Gray 1842: 69
- Coluber nasicornis Shaw 1802: 94
- Echidna nasicornis ? Hallowell 1857: 62
- Echidna nasicornis – Hallowell 1857: 62
- Vipera hexacera Duméril and Bibron 1854: 1416
- Vipera hexacera DumÉril & Bibron 1854: 1416
- Vipera nasicornis ? Daudin 1803: 322
- Vipera nasicornis – Daudin 1803: 322
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Uetz P.
Similar Species
[ Back to top ]
Members of the genus Bitis
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 37 species and subspecies in this genus:
B. albanica · B. arientans · B. arietans (African Puff Adder) · B. arietans arietans (African Puff Adder) · B. arietans somalica · B. arietaus · B. armata · B. atrapos · B. atropos (Mountain Adder) · B. atropos atropos (Mountain Adder) · B. atropos unicolor · B. caudalis (Horned Puff Adder) · B. caudalis paucisquamatus · B. cornuta (Many-Horned Adder) · B. rubida · B. rubida (Many-Horned Adder) · B. gabonica (Gaboon Viper) · B. gabonica gabonica (Gaboon Adder) · B. gabonica nasicornis · B. gabonica rhinoceros · B. heraldica (Angolan Adder; Bocage's Horned Adder (After Frank & Ramus 1995).) · B. hindii · B. inornata (Plain Mountain Adder) · B. lachesis · B. nasicanis · B. nasicornis (Rhinoceros Adder) · B. nassicornis · B. parviocula (Ethiopian Mountain Adder) · B. peringreyi · B. peringueyi (Peringuey's Adder) · B. rhinoceros · B. rubida (Red Adder) · B. schneideri (Namaqua Dwarf Adder) · B. superciliaris · B. wasicornis · B. worthingtoni (Kenya Horned Viper) · B. xeropaga (Desert Mountain Adder)
More Info
[ Back to top ]
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
[ Back to top ]
- A naturalist on lake Victoria, with an account of sleeping sickness and the tse-tse fly, by G.D. Hale Carpenter with 2 coloured plates, a map, charts, and 87 illustrations. London, T.F. Unwin ltd.[1920] ENG url p. 188, p. 96.
- African reptiles and amphibians in Field Museum of Natural History. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1936. ENG url p. 16, p. 45.
- Amphibia and reptiles, by Hans Gadow. London, Macmillan and co., limited, 1901. ENG url p. 652.
- Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. ENG url p. 105, p. 113, p. 75.
- Arbeiten aus dem Zoologischen Instituten der Universität Wien und der Zoologischen Station in Triest. Wien, A. Hölder. GER url p. 38, p. 39.
- Boulenger (1896) Catalogue of snakes, Vol. 3.
- Brehms Tierleben: allgemeine Kunde des Tierreichs / von A.E. Brehm; mit etwa 2000 Abbildungen im Text, ©ber 500 Tafeln in Farbendruck, Kupfer©Þtzung und Holzschnitt und 13 Karten. Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut, 1911-1921. GER url p. 527.
- Briscoe (1949) Copeia 1949 (1): 16-18
- Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: BM(NH) ENG url p. 320.
- Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, ENG url p. 205, p. 215, p. 243, p. 279, p. 380, p. 42, p. 502, p. 59, p. 64.
- Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 39, p. 9.
- Büttikofer (1890) Reiseb. Liberia, 2: 144.
- Calvete et al. (2007) Journal of Proteome Research 6(7):2732-2745
- Daudin (1802) Histoire Naturelle, reptiles, vol. 3.
- Duméril & Bibron (1854) Erpétologie générale Vol. 7/2.
- Gray (1842) Zool. Miscell., 1842: 68-71
- Hallowell (1857) Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 9: 48-72
- Handbuch der tropenkrankheiten / unter mitwirkung von prof. dr. A. Baelz, prof. dr. P. Bassett-Smith, dr. P. van Brero, [u.a.] hrsg. von prof. dr. Carl Mense, 2. aufl. Leipzig: J. A. Barth, 1913-23. GER url p. 228.
- Herrmann et al. (1999) Kaupia (Darmstadt) (8): 21-30
- Hughes (1968) Zool. Meded. Rijksmus. Nat. Hist. Leiden 9 (43): 107-115
- Jackson et al. (2007) Herp. Cons. Biol. 2 (2): 75-86
- Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. Oxford [etc.]Royal Microscopical Society. ENG url p. 483.
- Lenk et al. (1999) Kaupia (Darmstadt) (8): 31-38
- Liberia, by Sir Harry Johnston. With an appendix on the flora of Liberia, by Dr. Otto Stapf; 28 coloured illustrations by Sir Harry Johnston, 24 botanical drawings by Miss Matilda Smith, 402 black and white il London, Hutchinson, 1906. ENG url p. 832.
- Loveridge (1936) Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Chicago, 22 (1): 1-122 [53].
- Loveridge (1955) Sudan Notes Rec. 36: 15
- Mallow et al. (2003) Krieger, Malabar, Florida, 410 pp. [review in HR 35: 200, Reptilia 35: 74]
- McDiarmid et al. (1999) Snake species of the world, v.1.
- McDiarmid, Roy W., Jonathan A. Campbell, and T'Shaka A. Touré 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. The Herpetologists' League. Washington, D.C., USA. xi + 511. ISBN: 1-893777-01-4.
- Natur und Museum. Frankfurt am Main. MUL url p. 117.
- Ota et al. (1987) African Study Monographs 8 (2): 111-123
- Pauwels et al. (2002) Bull. Inst. Roy. Sci. Nat. Belgique (Biologie) 72: 47-57
- Phyletic analysis of fifty characters of advanced snakes [by] Hymen Marx and George B. Rabb. [Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History]1972. ENG url p. 58, p. 80.
- Phylogeny of the viperine snakes (Viperinae): a contribution in celebration of the distinguished scholarship of Robert F. Inger on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday / Hymen Marx, James S. Ashe, Larry E. Watrous. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1988. ENG url p. 23.
- Rasmussen (1981) Salamandra 17 (3/4): 173-188
- Relationships and zoogeography of the viperine snakes, family Viperidae [by] Hymen Marx and George B. Rabb. [Chicago]Chicago Natural History Museum, 1965. ENG url p. 162, p. 188.
- Rödel et al. (2000) Salamandra 36 (1): 25-38
- Schmidt (1923) Bull. Amer. Mus. nat. Hist., New York, 49 (1): 1-146
- Serpent worship in Africa / by Wilfrid D. Hambly, Assistant Curator of African Ethnology. 8 plates in photogravure and 1 map. Berthold Laufer, Curator, Department of Anthropology, editor. Chicago, 1931. ENG url p. 70, p. 72.
- Shaw et al. (1802) Nodder & Co. , London, Vol. 3: pl. 94
- Spawls et al. (2001) A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa, Academic Press, 543 pp.
- The snakes of Europe, by G. A. Boulenger. With fourteen plates and forty-two figures in the text. London, Methuen and Co., Ltd.[1913] ENG url p. 87.
- The University of Kansas science bulletin. [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. ENG url p. 1196, p. 1226.
- Transactions of the Natural History Society of Glasgow. Glasgow, The Society. ENG url p. 292.
- Trape et al. (1995) J. Afr. Zool. 109 (1): 31-50
- Venoms; venomous animals and antivenomous serum-therapeutics, by A. Calmette; translated by Ernest E. Austen. London, J. Bale, sons and Danielsson, 1908. ENG url p. 74.
- Wissenschaftliche ergebnisse der zweiten Deutschen Zentral-Africa-Expedition, 1910-1911, unter Führung Adolf Friedrichs. Leipzig, Klinkhardt and Biermann[1913- GER url p. 409, p. 488.
- Zoologischer Anzeiger. Jena, VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag. GER url p. 64.
- Zoologischer Jahresbericht. Berlin, R. Friedlander. GER url p. 231.
Notes
[ Back to top ]
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 11, 2006.
- Clark, M. A. WhoZoo.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 27, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 6 providers.
- Uetz, Peter. The Reptile Database
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 27, 2008:
- California Academy of Sciences: CAS Herpetology Collection Catalog
- Carnegie Museums: Amphibians and Reptiles
- Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Herpetology Collection - Reptile Database
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
- Yale University Peabody Museum: Peabody Herp Collection DiGIR provider Service
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2536916
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Rep-3839
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 634956
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 133731
Footnotes
- Mean = 849.500 meters (2,787.073 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,131.570 based on 8 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
