New Horned Viper Discovered in Southwest Tanzania

Posted on January 10, 2012

A colorful new pit viper has been discovered in southwest Tanzania. The black and yellow snake has been named Matilda's horned viper (Atheris matildae). It is described as resembling the Usambara bush viper (Atheris ceratophora), but it is much larger. Matilda is 2.1 meters long (about 7 feet) and has horn-like scales above its yes. Tim Davenport, Director of WCS's Tanzania Program, named the snake after his 7-year-old daughter.

The discovery is described in the December issue of Zootaxa. Authors of the study include Michele Menegon of Museo delle Scienze of Trento, Italy; WCS's Tim Davenport; and Kim Howell of the University of Dar es Salaam.

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