The Berg Adder is a small species of Adder that is native to the mountainous regions of Southern Africa. They generally only grow to lengths of around 30-40cm.
The Berg Adder is considered a bad tempered snake. It will hiss loudly at a potential threat and will strike without hesitation. There is no anti-venom for a bite from one of these snakes but no fatalities have been reported.
Berg Adder Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The Berg Adder belongs to the Viperidae or Viper family of snakes. This is one of the most popular families of venomous snakes in the world along with the Elapid family.
Vipers are found throughout most of the world but an interesting fact about vipers is that they are not native to Australia. The majority of venomous snakes in Australia are from the Elapid family.
Even though Australia has ‘Adders’, such as the Common Death Adder, these ‘Adders’ are not related to the Berg Adder and actually belong to the Elapid Family.
Some other well known species of vipers include the Bamboo Viper the Common Lancehead, the Cottonmouth, the Desert Horned Viper and the Eastern Copperhead Snake.
Genus
The Berg Adder belongs to the Bitis genus. This genus contains 15 different species of venomous snakes that are primarily found in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they can also be found in the Southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen, Oman and Southern Saudi Arabia.
The Bitis genus contains both the largest and smallest species of Viper in the World. The Gaboon Viper is the largest viper reaching lengths of up to 7 feet while the Namaqua Dwarf Adder is the smallest, growing to less than 1 foot in length.
The species within this genus are known for their behavior of inflating and deflating their bodies while hissing loudly in an attempt to scare off a potential threat.
Species
The Berg Adder has the scientific name Bitis atropos. It is named after the Greek goddess Atropos. In Greek Mythology, Astropos is often associated with Death.
Berg Adder Description
The Berg Adder typically only grows to lengths of around 30-40cm, making it one of the smallest species of Viper in the world. However, in captivity some specimens have reached lengths of up to 2 foot.
As these snakes live in isolated populations on mountains, there appearance can vary greatly. They have the typical Viper ‘look’ with a triangular shaped head with large jaws. This often gets them confused with other small Adders such as the Puff Adder.
The color of the snake can vary greatly from grey or brown or even a rusty red color while their bellys are generally an off-white color. However, their bellies can be darker with some locales having a dark grey belly.
A defining feature of these snakes is the darker colored blotches that run the length of their back. These markings run along the spine of the snake in pairs, forming a butterfly or bow shaped pattern along the snakes back.
Distribution and Habitat
There are four known isolated populations of Berg Adder. They can be found along the South Coast of South Africa, in and around Lesotho, from Swaziland up into the Limpopo province of South Africa. The final confirmed population of these snakes is on the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
They share parts of their geographical range with species such as the Leopard Tortoise, the Egg Eater Snake, the White Throat Monitor, the Armadillo Lizard and the Horned Adder.
These snakes are generally found in rocky, high altitude, mountainous regions where there is also plenty of grassland. However, in the Eastern and Western Cape they can be found at sea level.
These snakes like to shelter under rocks and beneath grass tussocks. They will often come out and bask on hiking paths. Thanks to there tendency to hiss loudly when a threat is approaching, bites from this snake is rare, despite its willingness to bite.
Berg Adder Venom
Most of the snakes in the Bitis genus have a cytotoxic venom. However, the Berg Adder is unique due to the fact that their venom consists primarily of neurotoxins.
This is likely an adaptation due to the fact that this snake usually feeds on small lizards and amphibians. However, they will alos eat small rodents and mammals when the opportunity arises.
Because of the neurotoxic properties of the venom, a bite will rarely lead to infection or necrosis. This is a common feature of most other species in the Bitis genus.
The venom is not considered potent enough to kill an adult human with a single bite and no human fatalities have ever been reported.
None of the current anti-venoms available are effective at treating a bite from a Berg Adder so treatment usually consists of reducing the symptoms that occur.