Poisonous Snakes of iho World 



ICiiiiiirK.i: KliiK ruliriis iiri- lutlvo (lliiriiiil siiiiki-s. 

 riif}' iii'i* |it'hiiarll.v liM'i't'stiiiil. Iiul lire .sniiifHiiit'.s fdiiiKl 

 III trt-t's iiiul III Clii> WHttT. Whllf tlu'y liuvc been it- 

 piirtt'd n> iimki- iiiiprDvoknt iittm-kM, siirh hflmvlor Is 

 cMrciiK-ly iiiiiisuiil. If I'Di-iifrcil en- liijiircil tlicy niii 

 In- vi-ry iliiiiKiToiis, lull tliry I'ri'inu'iilly kIvc lltllf I'vl- 

 (li'iiif of hiislillly xvlifii fiiriiiiiitt'i-cd. When iincry they 

 Klvf a (lt'f|> ri'soimiil lilss shniliir Id the mowl iil' a 

 siiiilll >lo^. 



Figure 88. — King Ciitira, Oi)liioi))ia(jus Uannah. Tlie 

 hood Is much smaller than In the Asiatic Cobra. 

 yaja iiaja. Photo by San Diego Zoo. 



The king cobra is uniiiue aiiionR snakes in construct- 

 iiiK an elaborate nest of dead leaves and other decaying 

 vegetation. Tliere are two chambers, one for the eggs, 

 the other occupied by the female snake. The male may 

 also remain nearby. Nesting cobras frequently but not 

 invariably defend their egg.s. 



King cobra bites in man appear to be most infrequent; 

 indeed there seems to be no ade<iuate account of the 

 symptoms of envenomation. Venom of the king cobra 

 shows marked antigenic differences from Naja venom 

 and is not well neutralized by Naja antivenin. Its 

 toxicity for mammals is less than that of Asiatic Xtija 

 venoms. King cobra antivenin is produced by Queen 

 Saovabha Memorial Institute, Bangkok. 



VIPERIDAE; Genus Azemiops Boulenger, 1888. 

 I'"t':rs \ i|M'|-. 



.\ single species. .1. fidi- Iloulenger, Is known from the 

 miinnlaliLS of soiilbeaslei'ii .\sla. It Is a sniiill species, 

 less than .°t i'e<'l In IcriKlli, and its danger to man is 

 iinkniiwn. 



Drflnitidn: Ili'ad sdoicwlial tlal Iciicd. ilislirjcl from 

 iici'k : siKiut bi'iiad and slmrl, I'anllius obtuse. I!n(ly 

 cylindrical, modeialely slender; tail short. 



Eyes moderate in size; pupils veiiically elliiiti<-al. 



Head scales: The usual !) scutes on the crown; 

 rostral brciad. rrnniul broad. Laterally, eye In contact 

 with supralabial row; nasal separated from preoculars 

 liv small s(pinrish loreal. 



liody scales: Dorsals smooth, in 17 nonobliciue rows 

 at niidliody, fewer (I.'i) ijosteriorly. \'eiitrals rounded, 

 ISO l.Si); subcaudals paired tlu-cpiigbo\U or a few anterior 

 ones single, 4\i:j:i. 



VIPERIDAE: Genus Echis Merrem, 1820. 



Saw-scaled xipefs. 



Two species are recognized. One {E. coloratus) is 

 restricted to eastern Egypt and the Arabian peninsula. 

 The other (E. carinatus) ranges from Ceylon and 

 southern India across western Asia and north Africa 

 .southward into tropical Africa. Although neither 

 attains a length of .3 feet, they possess a highly toxic 

 venom and are responsible for many deaths. When dis- 

 turbed they characteristically inflate the body and pro- 

 duce a hissing sound by rubbing the saw-eged lateral 

 scales against one another, (see p. 83, fig. 02). This 

 same pattern of behavior is shown by the nonpoisonous 

 egg-eating snakes Dasypeltin. 



Definition: Head broad, very distinct from narrow 

 neck; canthus indistinct. Body cylindrical, moderately 

 slender ; tail short. 



Eyes moderate in size ; pupils vertically elliptical. 



Head scales : A narrow supraocular sometimes pres- 

 ent ; otherwise crown covered with small scales, which 

 may be smooth or keeled. Rostral and nasals distinct. 

 Laterally eye separated from labials by 1-4 rows of 

 small .scales ; nasal in contact with rostral or separated 

 from it by a row of small scales. 



Body scales : Dorsals keeled, with apical pits, lateral 

 scales smaller, with serrate keels, in 27-.37 oblique rows 

 at midbody. Ventrals rounded, 132-205 ; subcaudals 

 single, 21-.02. 



VIPERIDAE: Genus Erisficophis Alcock and Finn, 1897. 



A single sjiecies, E. macinahonii Alcock and Finn, is 

 known from the desert areas of southeastern Iran, Af- 

 ghanistan, and West Pakistan. It is a rather small 

 snake, less than 3 feet in length. However, fatal cases 

 attributed to this species (Shaw. 1925) and a recent 



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