# Gaboon viper (*Bitis gabonica*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/gaboon-viper  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica), also called the Gaboon adder, is a snake in the family Viperidae, subfamily Viperinae, and genus Bitis. It falls in the medium size class, with a representative adult body mass of 2.381 kg. Its lifespan is given as 15.8 years, with values up to 18 years reported, and it has 156 young per litter or eggs per clutch. The IUCN Red List assesses the gaboon viper globally as Vulnerable (VU), a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.38 kg |
| Length | 1.05 m |
| Lifespan | 15.8 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 22 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland, shrubland |
| Young per litter or clutch | 15.5 – 27 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.33 – 0.5 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Viperidae
- genus: Bitis
- species: *Bitis gabonica* (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)

Synonyms: *Bitis gabonica gabonica*, *Bitis gabonica gabonica*, *Cerastes gabonica*, *Cerastes nasicornis*, *Echidna gabonica*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the gaboon viper?

The gaboon viper is a snake, a reptile in the family Viperidae and subfamily Viperinae.

### Is the gaboon viper endangered?

The gaboon viper is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How heavy is a gaboon viper?

An adult Gaboon viper has a representative body mass of 2.381 kg, placing it in the medium size class (1 to 25 kg).

### How long does a gaboon viper live?

The gaboon viper's lifespan is given as 15.8 years, and values up to 18 years have been reported.

### How many young does a gaboon viper have?

The gaboon viper has 156 young per litter or eggs per clutch.

### Who named the gaboon viper?

The gaboon viper, Bitis gabonica, was named by (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854).

### What is another name for the gaboon viper?

The gaboon viper is also called the Gaboon adder.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/gaboon-viper