Ashe,J.

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Page 53
A NEW BUSH VIPER
By
JAMES AsHE
(Curator,Nairobi SnakePark)
A newviperof thegenusAtherishasrecentlybeendiscoverednearMountKenya.
This formcomesfromEastof theRift Valleyin Kenyawhereno representativesof
thisgenushavebeenpreviouslyrecorded,anddifferssufficientlyfromotherformsto
meritrecognitionasa separatespecies.
The firstsnakeof thiskind, a female,wasbroughtto NairobiSnakePark bya
PeaceCorpsVolunteer,Mr. F. De Saix.Two furtherfemalesof thisspecieswere
collectedbytheauthorwhilea numberof subsequentspecimenshavebeenreceived
fromMr. De Saix.Thespeciesis thereforenamedfor himin recognitionof this,and
forhispastco-operationincollectingreptilesforthismuseum.
HOLOTYPE ~:NationalMuseum,Nairobi,No. 1626.CollectednearChuka,Lat.
0020'S.Long37°.35'E.onthethirdof July 1967in rainforestatanaltitudeofc. 1,600
metresbyF. De Saix.
DIAGNOSIS
Atheris desaixi sp.novo
Nearestto Atheris chloroechis(Schlegel)from WesternAfrica with whichit
agreesin havingshortheavilykeeledscales.Theuppermarginof therostralscaleis
highestat thecentreandsupportsan evennumberof supra-rostralscales,andthe
superciliaryscalesarenotenlarged.In both,thenasalscaleis circularandentireor
semi-divided.It differsin itsmid-bodyscalerowsbeing24-26:inA. chloroechis25-36.
Ventralscalesare165-168:A. chloroechis154-165.In A. desaixithesub-caudalsare
44-46(44-53whenthemalespecimenis included)against48-57(48-63whenmale
included)in A. chloroechis.Thekeelsontheupperpartof thedorsumendbeforethe
endof thescales,whileinA. ch/oroechisthekeelsterminatein the~ormof swellingsat
theposteriorendof thescales.It is largerin size: of thesixspecimensof thenew
viper,threeareover640mm. in length,whereasthemaximumlengthin thecase
of A. chloroechisis quotedas615mm.
DESCRIPTION OF HOLOTYPE~: Rostralbetweentwiceandthreetimesasbroad
asdeep,thehighestpointatthecentre,andsurmountedbyfourscales,theouterones
beingthelargest.Eyeseparatedfromupperlabialsbytwoscales.Elevenscalesacross
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ASHE: A NEW VIPER
1=\.
Fig. 1
Rostralarrangementof Atherisdesaixi,Holotype
R = Rostral
SR = Supra-rostral
Fig.2
Undersideof Lowerjaw of Atherisdesaixi,Holotype.
Lab = Labial
M = Mental
C.S. = Chin Shield
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occiputbetweeneyesand 15scalesaroundorbit. Nasal circular,largeand semi-
divided,andpiercedby a nostrilin thecentre.Nasalseparatedfromeyeby three
scales,restingon firstlabialandseparatedfromsecondby onescale.I I leftand12
rightupperlabials,theanterioronessmoothandtheposteriorlightlykeeled.All other
headscaleshortandstronglykeeledwiththeexceptionof thosein frontof thenasals,
aroundeyesandchinshieldswhicharesmooth.Gularsstronglykeeled,andin aseries
ofninefromcornerof lastlowerlabialstochinshields.Onesmallchinshieldfollowed
by a largeonewhichin turn is followedby four smallones.First lowerlabialin
contactwith its fellowbehindthemental.Dorsalscalesstronglykeeled,thoseon
dorsumhavingforeshortenedkeelsnotreachingtheendof thescale.Thekeelsonthe
lowerdorsalscalesare serrated.Mid-bodyscalerows24,ventrals166,sub-caudals
singleandnumber44.
COLOUR IN LIFE: Charcoalblackwith mustardyellowtip to eachscaleand
festoon-likemarkingsin thesameyellowoneithersideof thedorsumbracketingthe
dorsalline. This patterningcommencesin an indistinctmannerat theneck,but
progressesto aclearpatternposteriorlyuntilthetail,whereit is indistinctagain.The
anteriorhalfof theventralsurfaceisyellow.Beyondthisfaintpurplishblotchesbegin
to appear,whichbecomeprogressivelypronouncedparticularlyontherearedgesof
theventralscales,until thevent.Tail beneathis a purplishblackwiththelastfew
scalesablotchyyellow(thegeneralshadeoftheseriesvaries,butcoloursandmarkings
areconstant,thedifferenceappearstobeonlyin theamountof yellowin eachscale).
ALLOTYPE: Male, NationalMuseum,Nairobi,No. 1630,from samelocalityas
holotype.Collectedby Mr. F. De Saixon 1stOctober,1967.Thedifferencebetween
thisandthefemaleholotypeis asfollows:anteriorventralshavea blackposterior
edge,theamountof blackon thesescalesprogressivelyincreasesuntilaboutthree-
quartersalongthebodywherethewholeventralsurfaceis black.Thispersiststo the
endof thetailwhichis a blotchyyellow.Ventrals165,sub-caudals53,tailintobody
length,a fractionover6 times.In thefemaleseriesthesub-caudalcountis between
44-46,andtheventrals166-168.
HolotypeandAllotypetobedepositedattheBritishMuseum.OneParatypetothe
Museumof ComparativeZoology,Harvard,oneParatypeto theInstitutRoyaldes
SciencesNaturellesdeBelgique,Brussels,whilethetworemainingParatypeswill be
retainedattheNationalMuseum,Nairobi.
DISCUSSION
In workonthissnakeatleastonespecimenofeachof theseriescurrentlyascribed
to Atheris was examinedwiththe exceptionof Atheris hispida Laurentas in the
descriptionof thissnakefewof the characteristicsoincidewiththoseof desaixi;
alsonoattemptwasmadetoconsiderthetwospeciesrecentlyremovedfrom Vipera,
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namelyA. hindii (Boulenger)andA. superciliaris(Peters),dueto thefactthatthey
are atypical.Also A. barbouri (Loveridge)now occupiesa newgenus,Adenorhinus
havingbeenremovedfromAtheris.
The rostralarrangementappearsto dividethegenusinto two groups;in onea
rostralscalewiththehighestpointin thecentreandanevennumberof supra-rostral
scales,whichis typicalof A. desaixi,A. chloroechisandA. ceratophorusWerner;the
otherwitha depressedcentreto therostralandanoddnumberof supra-rostralsas
in A. katangensisWitte,A. nitscheiTournier,A. squamiger(Hallowell)andA. hispida.*
Furtherinvestigationmayshow justificationin creatingtwo-sub-generabasedon
this as a characteristic.Usingthis, andgeneralmorphology,theauthorbelieves
thatA. chloroechisis theclosestally of A. desaixi.
HABITAT: Thefirstthreespecimenscollectedall camefromanareaof lessthana
mileacrossandatanapproximatealtitudeof 1,600metres.Thefirstonecamefroma
clearingwithliberalundergrowthin rain-forest,andwasdiscoveredabout6 feetup
a treewhichwasbareof leavesexceptatthetop.Theheightof thistreewaslessthan
15feet.Thesecondonewascollectedfromabushbesideapathway,andwasnoticed
whencreeperswerebeingremovedto keepthepathwayclear.This onewasabout5
feetfromtheground.Thecamouflageof thisreptilewasperfectin theseconditions,
asthelightgreenfromthebushreflectedfromtheyellowpatterning,makingthesnake
almostinvisibleevenwhenit wasentirelyunconcealed.Thethirdspecimenwastaken
inlesstallforesthantheusualrainforestonaslopedowntoasmallriver.It wasabout
7 feetup in thecanopyof an umbrella-shapedtree.Therewasalmostno under-
growth,onlyverydampforestdebris.No noteshavebeenreceivedyetof theother
specimenscollected.Bothspecimenscollectedby theauthorweretakenat between
11.30a.m.andnoon.
OBSERVATIONS IN CAPTIVITY: Thesesnakesfed in captivity,takingwhite
laboratorymice.Whenalarmedtheywentinto a displaywhichresembledthatof
Echis carinatus(Schneider)in thattheyformedtheirbodiesinto loopsandcounter-
marcheduponthemselves,whichcausesa hissingsound.This wasaccompaniedby
rapidstrikestowardstheaggressor.This routinewasindulgedin withlessenthusiasm
thanthatof Echis carinatus.Aftera shorttimein captivityA. desaixibecamequite
mild,andwouldpermitthemselvesto be handledwith a hookwithoutbecoming
undulyupset.
Whetherthisanimalis nocturnalor diurnalis notsettled.In captivitytheyshow
signsofboth,feedingjustasreadilyeitherbydayornight.
* Although no specimensof A. hispidawere examined,Laurent describesthe supra-rostral
arrangementasfollows" ... surmonteedetroiskailles dont la medianeestpluspetitequeles deux
autres.".This impliesthat this snakebelongsto thesecondgroup.


Page 59
TABLE 1
Holotype
ParatypeParatypeAllotypePar type
No. 1626
No. 162789301
'?
'?'?'?3'Range
Scales
L. R.L.R. L.
Upper labials
12-1112-1210 011- 110- 2
Low r labials
1 33 434
R und eye
5 56 75 545 564 7
Betweeney s
1898-
Mid-bodyrow
24226424- 6
V ntra s
6688165- 68
S -caud
4544- 6( 33)
Ey to N al
33
Ey to L bial
2
Meas r ments Total Length
645mm5mm8 mmm 49 -682mm
LengthHeadand Body
55 m72 3 597
T il
8690
Coll ct by
F. De Saix F. De Saix J. Ashe F. De Saix F. De Saix J. Ashe
Date
July 3,Oc .,Sept. ,Oc .Oct.,Sep 19,
1967
9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Theauthorwouldlike to extendhisthanksto Mr. F. De Saixfor bringingthe
firstspecimenof Atherisdesaixito thenoticeof thismuseum.Also to Mr. R. Poole,
Directorof UnitedStatesPeaceCorpsin Kenya,for grantingpermissionto oneofhis
volunteersto collectreptiles.
Particularthanksareduealsoto Dr. GastonF. deWitteof theInstitutRoyaldes
SciencesNaturellesdeBelgiqueandto theBritishMuseumfor theloanof specimens.
Theauthoris alsogreatlyindebtedto Capt.C. R. S.Pitmanfor supplyinginfor-
mation,andfor hisassistancewiththemanuscript,alsoto Mr. R. Carcasson,Mr. A.
Forbes-Watsonand Mr. A. Duff-Mackayof theNationalMuseum,and to Miss
S. Swainof theTigoniPrimateResearchCentre.
REFERENCES
BOULENGER,1896.Catalogueof Snakes,BritishMuseum.
DEWITIE, 1962.Generadesserpentsdu Congo et du Ruanda-Urundi.MuseeRoyal de ['Afrique
Centrale,Tervuren.AnnalesSer.in 80,Sci. zool.No. 104.
KLEMMER,1963.Die GiftschlangenderErde. N. G. Elwert UniversitatsundVerlags-Buchhandlung.
MarburgfLahn.
LEESON,1950.Identificationof theSnakesof theGold Coast.CrownAgentsfor theColonies.
MARX& RABB.1965.Fieldiana,Zool.,ChicagoNaturalHistoryMuseum,Vol. 44,No. 21.
PITMAN,1938,Snakesof Uganda,A Guideto.Kampala.
1967.Personalcommunications.
VILLIERS,1950.Les Serpentsde 1'0uestAfricain. Institut Francaisd'Afrique Noir.
(Received13thDecember1967).


A New bush viper

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A New bush viper

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