Poisonous Snakos of the World 



GENERIC AND SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS 



N'i'iiiiiii ylflil siiiull liiit vi'iiiiiii iiT rnli'ly liiuli luxiiily. 



VIPERIDAE: Genus Vipera Laurenti, 1768. 

 Triu- luldi'is. 



KU'vi'ii species me rcinKiii/.ril. 'I'lils is an cspcciiilly 

 rnriiilile Kronp, witli smiu- incinlit'i's tliiit aro small and 

 relatively liinocuims le.u.. 1'. hiriix) and others that are 

 extremely dnuKeruiis (1'. Icbttina, \'. n(.i.w(7ii). They 

 ari' found from northern Kurasia thrmiKliout tliat con- 

 tinent and into nortli Afriia. (»ne species ranK*'s inl" 

 tlie Kast Indies (T. nin.silii) , and two are found in 

 east Africa (see Remarlvs under I'. mipvrciliariK) . 



Dvflnit'wn: Head hrond, distinct from narrow neck; 

 canthus distinct. Body cylindrical, varyini; from moder- 

 ately slender to stout ; tail short. 



Eyes moderate in size to snuill ; ]Hipils vertically el- 

 liptical. 



Head scales: X'ariahle: one sjiecies ( r. urshiii) has 

 all crown scutes, most species have at least the sn- 

 praooilars. but even these are absent in one (V. Icbc- 

 tiiia) : head otherwise covered with small scales. Later- 

 ally, nasal In contact with rostral or separated by a 

 single enlarged scale (the nasorostral), eye separated 

 from supralabials by 1-4 rows of small scales. 



Body scales: Dorsals keeled, with ajiical pits, in 19- 

 31 nonobliipie rows at midbody. Ventrals rounded, 120- 

 180; subcaudals paired, li()-(>4. 



European Viper, Vipera hems (Linnaeus). 



hhntificutidii: Head distinct from neck but ovoid 

 rather than distinctly trianfcular ; snout blunt, fiat, not 

 upturned ; top of head with 5 large smooth shields. 



Ground color pale gray, olive or yellow to russet or 

 brown, the darker colors generall.v in females. Down 

 the entire length of the back runs a black or dark 

 brown zigzag line rarely broken into spots for all or 

 part of its length and even more rarel.v straight edged. 

 Top of head behind eyes with a dark "X"- — or chevron 

 — mark ; belly pale gray with darker .suffusion. Uni- 

 formly black or very dark brown individuals are seen 

 especially in some mountainous regions. 



Average length 19 to 24 inches, maximum .'54 inches ; 

 females larger than males. 



Distribiiiio)i: The only poisonous snake of northern 

 Europe where it is widely distributed ; in central and 

 southern Europe largely confined to mountains where it 

 occurs to at least 9.000 feet elevation. It ranges com- 

 pletel.v across northern A.sia to the Russian island of 

 Sakhalin and northern Korea. In the north usually 

 found in dr.v open sunny places — moors, old fields, brushy 

 hillsides and openings in the forest. In the south more 

 prevalent on rocky hillsides and about the edges of 

 mountain forests. 



Rcmark.s: Xoeturnal during warm weather : diurnal 

 in cool ; has considerable tolerance for cold and may 

 be seen basking near patches of snow. Disposition 

 generally timid, but strikes quickly and rejieatedl.v when 

 cornered or suddenly alarmed. 



FicUKi; 1."). — Head scales of European Viijyr, Viiicra 

 bcnis. The broken-up crown shields on the snout are 

 characteristic of this species. (See also plate II, fig. 

 1.) Redrawn from Maki, 1931. 



Asp Viper, Vipera aspis (Linnaevis). 



Idoitifiration: Head more triangular than in Euro- 

 pean viper, snout slightly but distinctly upturned at tip ; 

 shields on crown fragmented, usually only 2 or 3 en- 

 larged. 



Color similar to Euro[iean viper but generally more 

 apt to be reddish or brown ; pattern of dark spots more 

 or less fused, sometimes forming zigzag band; dark 

 head mark not well defined; belly dark gray with 

 lighter flecks ; underside of tail tip yellow or orange. 



Figure 46. — Asp Viper, Vipera asijis. 

 Hunt Conant. 



Photo by Isabelle 



Size about the same as European viper, 18 to 24 

 inches ; males average larger than females. 



Distribution: The western part of southern Europe. 

 Found mostly in hill.y or mountainous country to an 

 altitude of 7,800 feet in the Pyrenees. 



Remarks: Disposition generally more sluggish than 

 European viper. Venom of about the same toxicity. 



Snub-nosed Viper, Vipera latastl Bosca. 

 Identification: Similar to the asp viper but snout 

 more upturned and pointed, its anterior surface formed 



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