Southern adder

Weight

up to 40 g

Length

up to 41.4 cm

Lifespan

Not recorded

Diet

Carnivore

Longest recorded lifespan

8.7 years

Main food

Not recorded

Habitat

shrubland, woodland

Young per litter or clutch

Not recorded

Reproduction

Live birth

Active

Day and night (cathemeral)

Conservation status

Not recorded

Countries on record

Not recorded

Not recorded

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

1. kingdomAnimalia
2. phylumChordata
3. classReptilia
4. orderSquamata
5. familyViperidae
6. genusBitis
7. SpeciesBitis armata (Smith, 1826)

Synonyms Bitis atropoides, Bitis cornuta cornuta, Bitis cornuta inornata, Bitis inornata, Vipera armata, Vipera atropoides

Catalogue of Life

VU, Vulnerable

Gaboon viper

Bitis gabonica

Viperidae

LC, Least Concern

Puff adder

Bitis arietans

Viperidae

R

Rhinoceros viper

Bitis nasicornis

ViperidaeNo free photo yet

D

Dwarf puff adder

Bitis peringueyi

ViperidaeNo free photo yet

N

Namaqua puff adder

Bitis schneideri

ViperidaeNo free photo yet

H

Horned adder

Bitis caudalis

ViperidaeNo free photo yet

CompareSouthern adder vs Gaboon viperSouthern adder vs Puff adderSouthern adder vs Rhinoceros viperSouthern adder vs Dwarf puff adder

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@misc{southern_adder_2026,
  title = {Southern adder (Bitis armata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/southern-adder},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}