Atheris acuminata
Atheris acuminata, the acuminate bush viper, is an arboreal species of viper found in Western Uganda, closely related to the viper species Atheris hispida. The species gets the name 'acuminate' and 'acuminata' from the long dorsal scales on the back of its head and the front half of its body, which present as long hollow curves which thin to a sharp point. As with all vipers, A. acuminata is venomous.
Description
Atheris acuminata is distinguished from A. hispida by its pentagonal rostral shield with its two large suprarostrals, its enlarged frontal shield, its five interorbitals, six supralabials and its acuminate spines which go down to its midbody.Aside from distinguishing it from A. hispida, A. acuminata has 3 internasals, 10 maximum transverse head scales, 11 or 12 circumorbital scales, no interoculabials, 1 interocunasal, 7 or 8 infralabials and 1 pair of sublinguals.