Poisonoui Snalos of llw WaiUi 



(iriiliir iluiili'il lulu .'i >iiiiill nhlrlils; iiMiiiilly .'( nciiI<> mwH 

 l>i'(\vi'<>ii cyr mill ii|i|iiT liililiils; iliir.Miil liiiily ni'mIi'S koi'li-il, 

 III ^S^ li> L'7 rows III iiililliiiily : viMilriils iii>l krrli'il ; siili- 

 riillilals illvlili-il, 



Uorsiil I'olnr liKlit m'liy, kliiikl, or ImfT uiili niiiniti' 

 (liirkcr iiiiiirlalliiii kIvIhk ii Ki'iK-nilly iliisly iipiii'iiiaiKi' ; 

 sitU's of siiiiill, ri'claiiKiiliir brown, riMlilish or uray 

 lilotilifs ; l>i-lly liiitT varialily rtouili'd wllli tjray ; tall 

 pinkish hrowii. A n-ilillsli lirown pinisc witlioiit lilotrlics 

 Is swn ill parts of tlic raiinc: In oilu-r areas the snakes 

 may ''»• almost iinifornily dusty Kmy '"■ khaki. 



AveraKi' U'liSth SO to l") inches; niaxiiiiiiiii a lit lie over 

 ."> feet. 



nixlribiition: Cyprus and llu' Cyelades Islands 

 through the ('aiicasns and Middle Kast to Kasluiiir, 

 Iiihaliits barren rocky areas usually at altitudes of 

 .•{.tHMl to 7.(Xm feet but at lower altitudes toward the 

 nortliern and western part of tlie raiifjo. 



Hvmarku: Very slow to move; seeming almost obli- 

 vious to stiniiili when encountered by day. (Many of its 

 local names mean "deaf one" or "blind one.") More 

 active and alert at nijiht but may strike (|iiickly and 

 savajiely at any time; occasionally climbs into bushes. 



The Levantine viper is important as a cause of snake- 

 bite in the Middle East. The quantity and toxicity of 

 the venom are about the same as for Russell's viper. 

 Antivenins against V. Ichcthia venom are produced by 

 the State Razi Institute. Teliran, Iran, and Tashkent In- 

 stitute. Moscow. 



V. h'hctina. like the majority of vipers found in the 

 Middle East, lays eggs. 



Near East Viper, Vipera xanthina (Gray). 



Idciitiftriilioii: Head large, a little shorter than in 

 the Levantine viper ; body build similar ; supraocular 

 not divided, narrow, turned up into a hornlike process 

 in the subspecies rudiUi ; usually 1 or 2 scale rows be- 



FiGUBE 78. — Palestine Viper, Vipera xanthina palaesti- 

 nae. This subspecie? of the Near East viiier is a 

 leading cause of .snakebite in its range. Photo by 

 Erich Sochurek. 



tweeii eye and upper labials; dorsal .scales usuiilly In 

 i:.'<. less often In !.'.'> rows at iiiidbody. 



(iroiind color sandy yellow, golden brown, gray or rcil- 

 dish brown with series of oval or round spots with 

 lighter ceiilcrs and pale edges; these are oflcn fused 

 into a zigzag band. Top of head with conspicuous V- 

 shaped dark mark or pair of elongate dark spots; promi- 

 nent dark slripe lii'liind eye; hcliy yellowish willi lila<-k 

 or gray moll ling. 



Average lenglli 2H to .•{H Inches; maximum about 4 feet. 



Dintribiitidu: The Caucasus Mountains and north- 

 western Iran, western Turkey and south to Israel and 

 .lordan. Occurs along stream valleys and in other 

 places where there are vegetation and moisture; absent 

 from true desert: often iilenliful in cultivated regions. 



It'ciiiarhx: A nocturnal snake that not infreciuently 

 may be found near Ininian habitation. It is alert and 

 strikes quickly when disturbed. The subspecies palaes- 

 tinae is the leading cause of snakebite accidents in 

 Israel and adjoining territory. 



Much research has been done on the venom of the 

 Palestine vijier (V'.x. palacnliii(u) . The lethal dose for 

 man is estimated at 7.") mg. — well within the capacity of 

 an adult snake. The case fatality rate is about 5 per- 

 cent. Antivenin is produced by the Institut Pasteur, 

 Paris. An Israeli antivenin is reported to be ready for 

 Iirodnction. 



CROTALIDAE: Genus Agk/sfrodon Beauvois, 1799. 

 Moccasins and Asian pit. vipers. 



Twelve species are recognized. Three of these are in 

 North and Central America ; the others are in Asia, 

 with one species, A. halys (Pallas) ranging westward to 

 southeastern Europe. The American copperhead (A. 

 cnntortrix) and the Eurasian mamushi and its relatives 

 (A. halys) seldom inflict a serious bite but A. acutus 

 and .4. rhoilo.stoma of southeastern Asia, as well as the 

 cottonmouth (A. piscivorus) of the southeastern United 

 States, are dangerous .species. Pallas's viper, A. halyn is 

 the only one that enters this region (see p. 75). 



Definition: Head broad, flattened, very distinct from 

 narrow neck ; a sharply-distinguished canthus. Body 

 cylindrical or depressed, tapered, moderately stout to 

 stout ; tail short to moderately long. 



Eyes moderate in size ; pupils vertically elliptical. 



Head .scales : The usual '.) on the crown in most 

 species ; interna.sals and prefrontals broken up into small 

 scales in some Asian forms ; a pointed nasal appendage 

 in some. Laterall.y, loreal pit separated from labials or 

 its anterior border formed by .second supralabial. 

 Loreal scale present or absent. 



Body scales: Dorsals smooth (in A. rhndostoma 

 only) or keeled, with apical pits, in 17-27 nonoblique 

 rows. Veutrals 12.^5-174 ; subcaudals single anteriorly or 

 paired throughout, 21-68. 



112 



