Great Lakes Bush Viper

About the Great Lakes Bush Viper

Common names: Great Lakes bush viper, Nitsche's bush viper, more. Atheris nitschei is a species of venomous snake, a viper in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to Africa. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

The former subspecies Atheris nitschei rungweensis from southwestern Tanzania, northeastern Zambia and northern Malawi was elevated to species rank as Atheris rungweensis. The specific name, nitschei, is in honor of German zoologist Hinrich Nitsche (1845–1902).

The 1906 junior synonym, A. woosnami, was in honor of Kenyan game ranger Richard Bowen Woosnam (1880–1915), who later fought in World War I and was killed in action at Gallipoli. Atheris nitschei is a relatively large and stout bush viper, growing to an average total length (tail included) of 60 cm (24 in) and a maximum total length of at least 80 cm (31 in). The males are smaller than the females.

Common names for Atheris nitschei include Great Lakes bush viper, Nitsche's bush viper, black and green bush viper, Nitsche's tree viper. sedge viper, green viper, bush viper. Wikipedia →