Viper
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 Photo of Danish viper, Vipera berus (Ravnsholt). | ||||||||||||
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Adenorhinos |
- This page is about Viper snakes. For other uses see Viper (disambiguation).
Vipers are venomous snakes belonging to the Viperidae family (consisting of roughly 150 species). They are characterised by long erectile fangs, which are folded back when not in use. They also have triangle-shaped heads with a distinctly narrower neck. The broad areas of the head house the venom glands. Their eyes have irises like those of a cat. Being 0.3–3 m long, vipers feed on small animals, which are injected with venom and then followed until they die.
The viper's venom is a haemotoxin, and is generally more dangerous than the neurotoxin of a cobra. Since vipers possess a poor digestive system, they rely on the venom to do the job via rapid tissue damage. Thus, a bite to humans can, at the worst, be even fatal. The exact effect strongly depends on the type of viper and the constitution and build of the human in question. However, because of the notable tissue damage caused by the venom, even with good treatment the bite is sure to leave a permanent mark. At the very worst, the area may even have to be amputated.
| Common name | Scientific name | Geographic range |
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| Bush Viper | Atheris squamiger | Angola, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya |
| Carpet Viper | Echis coloratus | Africa, Asia |
| Cyclades Blunt-Nosed Viper | Vipera lebetina schweizeri | Greece |
| Crossed Viper | Vipera berus berus | British Isles, Europe, Russia, China, Spain |
| European Asp | Vipera aspis aspis | Austria, Germany, Italy, France |
| Fea's Viper | Azemiops feae | Burma, SE Tibet, China |
| Gaboon Viper | Bitis gabonica | Equatorial Africa |
| Horned Desert Viper | Cerastes cerastes cerastes | Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq |
| Leaf-Nosed Viper | Eristocophis macmaboni | Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan |
| Long-Nosed Viper | Vipera ammodytes ammodytes | Hungary, Austria, Italy, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro, Albania |
| Palestinian Viper | Vipera palaestinae | Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan |
| Rhinoceros Viper | Bitis nasicornis | Kenya, Uganda, Angola, Zaire |
| Rough-Scaled Tree Viper | Atheris bispidus | Kenya, Uganda, Zaire |
| Russell's Viper | Vipera russelli | Pakistan, India |
| Saw-scaled Viper | Echis carinatus leakeyi | Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia |
Closely related groups
- Adder
- Pit Vipers may be treated as a subfamily (Crotalinae) of the viper family Viperidae (with "true vipers" or pitless vipers in the subfamily Viperinae), or as a family of their own, Crotalidae.
- Saharan Horned Viper
References
- Mehrtens, John M. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishing, 1987. ISBN 080696460X.
de:Vipern