Common names: Shaba bush viper, Katanga Mountain bush viper, more.

Atheris katangensis is a venomous

Venomous snake

"Poisonous snake" redirects here. For true poisonous snakes, see Rhabdophis.Venomous snakes are snakes which have venom glands and specialized teeth for the injection of venom...

 viper

Viperinae

The Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the Crotalinae. Currently, 12 genera and 66 species are recognized...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 endemic to DR Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

. Found only in a limited area in the east of the country. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Description

Attains a maximum length of only 40 cm, making this the smallest member of the genus Atheris

Atheris

Atheris is a genus of venomous vipers found only in tropical subsaharan Africa, excluding southern Africa. Confined to rain forest areas, many members have isolated and fragmented distributions. In an interesting example of convergent evolution, they show many similarities to the arboreal pit...

.

The head is flat, triangular, distinct from the neck and covered with small keeled scales. The snout is rounded. Midbody there are 24-31 rows of dorsal scales

Dorsal scales

In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales.When counting dorsal scales, numbers are often given for three points along the body, for example 19:21:17...

. The tail is short. Males and females have 45-59 and 38-42 subcaudal scales

Subcaudal scales

In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. These scales may be either single or divided and are preceded by the anal scale....

 respectively.

The color pattern consists of a purple-brown or yellow-brown ground color, overlaid with paired dorsolateral lines of a contrasting shade. These lines may break into a zigzag pattern and run from head to tail. The belly is yellowish, as it the tip of the tail.

Common names

Shaba bush viper, Katanga Mountain bush viper,
Upemba bush viper, Katanga bush viper, Katanga tree viper.

Geographic range

Restricted to Upemba National Park

Upemba National Park

Upemba National Park is a large park in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Located in a lush area dotted by lakes, including the eponymous Lake Upemba, and bordered by the Lualaba River, its 11,730 km² dominates the Kibara Plateau....

, Shaba Province

Katanga Province

Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...

 in eastern DR Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

. The type locality given is "Mubale-Munte (région du confluent), sous-affluent st de la rive droite de la Lufira [alt. 1480], Park National de l'Upemba."