Amazing Species: Side-winding Adder
© James Anderson_CC on flickr.com
Amazing Species: Side-winding Adder The Side-winding Adder or Dwarf Puff Adder, Bitis peringueyi, is listed as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. It ranges along the coast of Namibia and southern Angola. This adder is the classic ‘sidewinder’ of the Namib Desert, moving rapidly with a sideways motion that limits contact between its body and the hot sand. Geographical range
Knowledge Experts Get Involved
While the Side-winding Adder is not at serious risk of extinction, it is exploited for the international pet trade. Animals do not survive well in captivity, and so are harvested from the wild to meet demand. The international market for venomous snakes is specialized and somewhat limited, and is not likely to result in more than localized declines in this snake, which occurs along most of the Namibian coast and can be common. Namibia is the only country in the world whose coastline falls completely within the national protected area network, and almost the entire distribution of this species therefore falls within protected areas. Monitoring of harvest levels has been recommended for this species.
The production of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is made possible through the IUCN Red List Partnership.
Amazing Species: Side-winding Adder The Side-winding Adder or Dwarf Puff Adder, Bitis peringueyi, is listed as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. It ranges along the coast of Namibia and southern Angola. This adder is the classic ‘sidewinder’ of the Namib Desert, moving rapidly with a sideways motion that limits contact between its body and the hot sand. Geographical range
Knowledge Experts Get Involved
While the Side-winding Adder is not at serious risk of extinction, it is exploited for the international pet trade. Animals do not survive well in captivity, and so are harvested from the wild to meet demand. The international market for venomous snakes is specialized and somewhat limited, and is not likely to result in more than localized declines in this snake, which occurs along most of the Namibian coast and can be common. Namibia is the only country in the world whose coastline falls completely within the national protected area network, and almost the entire distribution of this species therefore falls within protected areas. Monitoring of harvest levels has been recommended for this species.
The production of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is made possible through the IUCN Red List Partnership.
