Berg adder
species of reptile
The berg adder (Bitis atropos) is a viper species endemic to mountainous regions in southern Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Taxonomy
The specific name, atropos, refers to the Greek mythological goddess Atropos, who was one of the Three Fates, the one who cut the thread of life. The type locality given is "America", but this is obviously a mistake. More likely, it is the Cape of Good Hope, according to FitzSimons (1962).
Its common names include berg adder, Cape mountain adder, and mountain adder.
Description
The typical adult size of B. atropos is 30–40 cm (about 12–16 in) in total length (body and tail), with some females reaching a maximum total length of 50 cm (20 in) in the wild and 60 cm (24 in) in captivity.
Distribution and habitat
B. atropos is found in isolated populations of the mountainous regions of southern Africa. In South Africa, the species is known to occur in the Transvaal, along the Drakensberg escarpment of the eastern and northern Transvaal. Elsewhere in South Africa, it occurs in western Natal, Lesotho, and eastern Free State, and in the southern coastal mountains of western and eastern Cape Province.
“Berg adder” enters the record as species of reptile. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Berg, adder and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Berg adder” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Berg, adder and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2704831. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1962.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Berg adder” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.