Atheris chlorechis


 * Common names: western bush viper, West African leaf viper, more.

Atheris chlorechis is a viper species found only in the forests of West Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized. It is the type species of its genus. It is venomous. Atheris chlorechis venom can lead to major systemic envenoming, shock, blood loss due to coagulopathy, and renal failure. There is no antivenom.

Description
Adults average 50 cm (20 inches) in total length (body + tail), with a maximum total length of 70 cm. The tail is relatively long. The body is relatively slender, with 25–36 midbody rows of dorsal scales. These are heavily keeled, with the keels ending in a swelling at the end of each scale.

Adults have a uniform light green ground color, overlaid with a series of faint yellow, roughly paired spots running dorsally along the length of the body and about 2.5 cm (about 1 in) apart. The belly is pale green in color. Newborns are tan-brown in color, but this changes to a yellow-green hue with irregular dark spots within 24 hours. This second color phase has been described as the reverse of that of the adults and is only seen in individuals less than 25 cm in total length.

Common names
Western bush viper, West African leaf viper, West African tree viper.

Geographic range
Atheris chlorechis is found in West Africa from Sierra Leone through Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana to southern Togo. Records from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon are considered erroneous.

The type locality is listed as "Boutre, Ghana".

Habitat
Found in forests, in dense foliage about 1–2 m (about 3–6 ft) above the ground.

Feeding
Said to feed on rodents, lizards and tree frogs.

Reproduction
Gives birth to 6–9 young in March to April. Newborns are 131–151 mm (about 5–6 inches) in total length.