Bitis inornata

Bitis inornata is a venomous viper species found only in Cape Province, South Africa.^[1][2][3] No subspecies are currently recognized.^[3][4]

Bitis inornata
Original illustration from A. Smith, 1838.
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Bitis
Species:	B. inornata
Binomial name
Bitis inornata (A. Smith, 1838)
Synonyms[2]
Echidna inornata A. Smith, 1838 Clotho ? inornata Gray, 1849 Vipera inornata Strauch, 1869 Bitis inornata Boulenger, 1896 Bitis cornuta inornata Underwood [fr], 1968 Bitis inornata Branch, 1991

Common names

Common names for this species include plain mountain adder, hornless adder,^[5][6] and Cape puff adder.^[7]

Description

Adults of Bitis inornata average 25–40 cm (9.8–15.7 in) in total length (including tail), with a maximum recorded total length of 45 cm (18 in).^[5]

Geographic range

Bitis inornata is endemic to Cape Province, South Africa.^[1]

An isolated population exists on the Sneeuberg, eastern Cape Province, South Africa.^[2]

The type locality is listed as "Sneeuwbergen, or Snow Mountains, ... immediately behind the village of Graaff Raynet" (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa).^[2]

Spawls and Branch (1995) described it as known only from two isolated populations in southern Cape Province in South Africa: the first in the east, limited to the montane grassland of the Sneeuberge, from north of Graaff-Reinet to Cradock. A second population was discovered relatively recently on the upper slopes of the Cederberg in the west.^[6]

Conservation status

The species Bitis inornata is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List.^[1]