🐍Gaboon viper
The Gaboon viper, also called the Gaboon adder, is a large and highly venomous species of viper found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest member of the genus Bitis. Like all other vipers, it is venomous, and it has the longest fangs of any venomous snake – up to 2 inches (5.1 cm) in length – and the highest venom yield of any snake. No subspecies are recognized.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2021.
- Body mass
- 2.38 kg
- Body length
- 1.8 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 18 years
Everything we know about the Gaboon viper
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass2.38 kgrecord 2.88 kg · ReptTraitsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Body length1.8 mmaximum recordedReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan18 yearsrecord 22 years · ReptTraitsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Activity cycleNocturnalReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
VenomousYesReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Snout–vent length0.33 mmaximum recordedReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l2.4 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Gaboon viper yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
- infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
- subfamilyViperinae
- genusBitis
All 14 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- orderSauria
- superorderLepidosauria
- orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
- infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
- familyViperidae
- subfamilyViperinae
- genusBitis
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