gaboon viper

American  

noun

1. a large, venomous snake, Bitis gabonica, of tropical African forests, having large retractable fangs and geometrically patterned scales of yellow, brown, and sometimes purple.

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gaboon viper British  

noun

1. a large venomous viper, Bitis gabonica , that occurs in African rainforests. It has brown and purple markings and hornlike projections on its snout

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Etymology

Origin of gaboon viper

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

On New Year's Eve, 1928, Perkins was removing parasites from the back of a gaboon viper, a small African reptile, when the snake wriggled its head free and sank one fang into Perkins' index finger.

From Time Magazine Archive

The bite "felt like a bee sting magnified 100 times"; according to all known experience with the gaboon viper, Perkins should have died.

From Time Magazine Archive