''Bitis inornata'' is a

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

found only in

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. No

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are currently recognized.

Common names

Common names for this species include plain mountain adder, hornless adder,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .Spawls, Stephen; Branch, Bill (1995). ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Dubai: Oriental Press / Ralph Curtis Books. 192 pp. . and Cape puff adder.Brown JH (1973). ''Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes''. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. .''

Description

Adults of ''Bitis inornata'' average in total length (including tail), with a maximum recorded total length of .

Geographic range

''Bitis inornata'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Cape Province, South Africa. An isolated population exists on the Sneeuberg, eastern

. The type locality is listed as "Sneeuwbergen, or Snow Mountains, ... immediately behind the village of Graaff Raynet" (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa). Spawls and Branch (1995) described it as known only from two isolated populations in southern Cape Province in

: the first in the east, limited to the montane grassland of the

Sneeuberge The Sneeuberge or Sneeuberg mountain range was historically known as “Sneeuwbergen”, meaning ‘snow mountains’ in Cape Dutch, and refers to a significant portion of Southern Africa's Great Escarpment in the Cradock, Murraysburg, Rich ...

, from north of

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet (; Xhosa: eRhafu) is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province and the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The to ...

to Cradock. A second population was discovered relatively recently on the upper slopes of the

Cederberg The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, Western Cape, Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia cedarbe ...

in the west.

Conservation status

The species ''Bitis inornata'' is classified as least concern on the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Red List.

References

* Boulenger GA (1896). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ''. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (''Bitis inornata'', pp. 496–497). * Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Bitis inornata'', pp. 117–118 + Plate 14). * Smith A (1838). ''Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa; Consisting Chiefly of Figures and Descriptions of the Objects of Natural History Collected during an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, in the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836; Fitted out by "The Cape of Good Hope Association for Exploring Central Africa:" Together with a Summary of African Zoology, and an Inquiry into the Geographical Ranges of Species in that Quarter of the Globe.'' olume III. Reptilia London: Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury. (Smith, Elder and Co., printers). 48 Plates + unnumbered pages of text. (''Echidna inornata'', new species, Plate 4 + two unnumbered pages).

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