Atheris mabuensis

Atheris mabuensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Atheris
Species: A. mabuensis
Binomial name
Atheris mabuensis
Branch & Bayliss, 2009

Atheris mabuensis, or the Mount Mabu forest viper, is a species of venomous snake in the Viperidae family. It is endemic to Mozambique.[1]

Discovery

During his second reconnaissance visit to Mount Mabu (23–26 January 2006) Dr. Julian Bayliss found a very young forest viper in leaf litter on the floor of closed-canopy wet forest on Mount Mabu at approximately 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). On examination in the Port Elizabeth Museum (BayWorld, acronym PEM) herpetological collection by Prof. Bill Branch, the specimen was identified as a member of the genus Atheris, which had never previously been recorded from Mozambique and which, moreover, represented a substantial southern range extension for the genus.

References

  1. Branch WR, & Bayliss J (2009). "A new species of Atheris (Serpentes: Viperidae) from northern Mozambique". Zootaxa 2113: 41–54.


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