Common names: Albany adder, eastern hornsman adder, eastern many-horned adder.

Bitis cornuta albanica 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...

 subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 restricted to eastern and southern Cape Province

Cape Province

The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...

 in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

Description

This subspecies does not have the horns that are characteristic of the nominate race, B. c. cornuta

Bitis cornuta

Bitis cornuta is a venomous viper species found in certain rocky desert areas, mostly along the Atlantic coast of southern Africa. They have a characteristic tuft of horns above each eye. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.-Description: Small...

. The coloration is brown to reddish brown and they may also lack the distinctive pattern of the typical form.

Geographic range

Eastern and southern Cape Province in South Africa. The type locality is listed as "The Dene (Port Elizabeth), Addo, and from dry scrub districts near Grahamstown such as Brak Kloof, farm Springvale, and Kleinpoort near Committees ... Eastern Cape Province, South Africa."