Bale Mountains adder

Open encyclopedia reference

Bitis harenna, or the Bale Mountains adder, is a relatively unknown species of viper from and named after the Harenna Forest in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. It is often mixed up with the Bitis parviocula in multiple scientific papers, as both it and B. parviocula lack horns between nostrils, as well as sharing specific numbers of specific scales and a pale 'cross bar' marking on the head behind the eyes. However, it can be told apart from all other Macrocerastes (or 'Bitis') species by their unique colouring, markings and braincase. The species has only been officially sighted at a length of 66 cm to 1 m.

Wikipedia contributors, Bitis harenna; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:55:28.304427+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Bitis harenna Gower, Wade, Spawls, Böhme, Buechley, Sykes & Colston, 2016

Name authority

Gower, Wade, Spawls, Böhme, Buechley, Sykes & Colston, 2016

Common name

Bale Mountains adder

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Viperidae

Genus

Bitis

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
12. familyViperidae
13. subfamilyViperinae
14. genusBitis
15. speciesBitis harenna Gower, Wade, Spawls, Böhme, Buechley, Sykes & Colston, 2016

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Bitis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 244 records assigned to Viperidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. GOWER, DAVID J.; EDWARD O. Z. WADE, STEPHEN SPAWLS, WOLFGANG BÖHME, EVAN R. BUECHLEY, DANIEL SYKES, TIMOTHY J. COLSTON. (2016). A new large species of Bitis Gray, 1842 (Serpentes: Viperidae) from the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. Zootaxa 4093 (1): 041–063. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:87SQH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.