Atheris barbouri
Loveridge, 1930
Adenorhinos barbouri
Marx & Rabb, 1965
Udzungwa (Uzungwe) Viper,
Barbour's Viper, Short-Headed Viper
The Udzungwa (Uzungwe) and Ukinga mountains
of southwestern Tanzania.
A small viper about 14 inches (35 cm)
in length. It has strongly keeled scales
and a triangular head with a short, rounded
snout. Its tail is shorter than that of
Atheris sp. and is not prehensile. Its
ground color is brown, olive, or
blackish olive and its venter is greenish
white to olive. A pair of straw-colored
stripes zig zag dorsolaterally. Males
are blackish-olive with indistinct markings.
Very little is known about this exceptionally
rare species. The type specimens were
found in bush and bamboo undergrowth on
mountain slopes at 1800 meters (Loveridge,
1930). It appears to prefer moist forest
floors (Rasmussen and Howell, 1998). It
feeds on earthworms and small frogs.
