Bitis armata | SANBI Sensitive Species

Exploitation extent

Small or insignificant - wild individuals of the species are known to be exploited, collected, traded or utilized in a targeted manner, but utilisation is localised and/or affects only a small proportion of the wild population.

Justification and references

This species is found in the pet trade but the extent of removal from the wild does not seem to be substantial at present (Maritz & Turner In press, A. Turner Pers. comm. 2018). The species is not listed on CITES, but is on the Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) list under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act 10 of 2004), whereby any collections of this species must be under TOPS permit. Thus, animals in the pet trade could be illegally collected if no TOPS permits were issued. Lack of a database on TOPS collections hampers providing quantitative information for this assessment.

Maritz B, Turner AA. In press. Bitis armata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018.

Turner AA. 2014. Bitis armata (Smith, 1839). In MF Bates, WR Branch, AM Bauer, M Burger, J Marais, GJ Alexander, MS de Villiers (eds), Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

Population vulnerability

Population is not vulnerable: size is > 2500 mature individuals, AND the number of known subpopulations is > 5 AND range > 100km²

Justification and references

The species is considered Vulnerable on IUCN due to habitat loss and fragmentation, with local extirpations recorded (Maritz & Turner In press, Turner 2014, 2017). However, the distribution is ca. 1775km2, suggesting that multiple populations exist across its' range.

Maritz B, Turner AA. In press. Bitis armata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Turner AA. 2014. Bitis armata (Smith, 1839). In MF Bates, WR Branch, AM Bauer, M Burger, J Marais, GJ Alexander, MS de Villiers (eds), Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

Turner AA. 2017. Bitis armata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22473777A110343644. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22473777A110343644.en. Downloaded on 12 January 2018.

Targeted demographics

Mature (breeding) individuals are killed, significantly weakened or are permanently removed from the wild, OR immature individuals are targeted and this significantly impacts mature (breeding) individuals.

Justification and references

Adult individuals are found in the pet trade, constituting permanent removal of breeding individuals from the population (Maritz & Turner In press, Turner 2014, 2017).

Maritz B, Turner AA. In press. Bitis armata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Turner AA. 2014. Bitis armata (Smith, 1839). In MF Bates, WR Branch, AM Bauer, M Burger, J Marais, GJ Alexander, MS de Villiers (eds), Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

Turner AA. 2017. Bitis armata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22473777A110343644. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22473777A110343644.en. Downloaded on 12 January 2018.

Regeneration potential

This species has a slow population growth rate, or the growth rate varies depending on habitat, and there is a poor chance the wild populations will recover from exploitation OR a collector might feasibly harvest the entire extant population removing the chance of subsequent recruitment.

Justification and references

The local extinction of the Cape Peninsula population (Martiz & Turner In press, Turner 2014, 2017) indicates that the species does not recover well from losses. Although this extinction is primarily related to habitat loss, this does suggest that recolonisation and recruitment potential is low.

Maritz B, Turner AA. In press. Bitis armata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Turner AA. 2014. Bitis armata (Smith, 1839). In MF Bates, WR Branch, AM Bauer, M Burger, J Marais, GJ Alexander, MS de Villiers (eds), Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.

Turner AA. 2017. Bitis armata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22473777A110343644. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22473777A110343644.en. Downloaded on 12 January 2018.