MORPHOLOGY OF VENOMOUS SNAKES 31 
Vipera latastii. 
Gray or brown above, with a longitudinal zigzag band, usually speckled with 
white; head with or without speckle on top; black stripe behind eye; belly gray, 
spotted with black and white; tail yellow with yellow eee Length about 1.6 to 
1.8 feet. Spain and Portugal, North Africa. 
Vipera ammodytes. 
The upper jaw turns up into a horny appendix. Color gray, brown, or reddish 
above, with a zigzag dorsal band, ordinarily spotted with white; black stripe from 
rear of eye; belly gray or violet; end of tail yellow, orange, or coral red. Length 
about 1.6 to 1.8 feet. Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria, Hungary, Danubian districts, 
Turkey. Not farther than 48° north latitude. North Africa. 
Vipera russellii. (Plate r2, D.) 
Known best as the ‘“‘ Daboia’’; another synonym is Vipera elegans. The scales 
form about 30 rows on back. Top of head covered with small, imbricating, usually 
keeled scales. General color pale brown above, with 3 longitudinal series of black, 
light-edged rings, which sometimes encircle reddish spots; belly yellowish-white, 
uniform, or with small crescent-shaped black spots. Length up to 5 feet.! Hin- 
dustan Peninsula, Bombay, Bengal, Ceylon, Burma, and Siam. The species 
ascends the Himalayas to an altitude of 5,000 feet. Its food consists of small verte- 
brates, frogs, mice, rats, and birds. It invades the inhabited house to hunt the 
rat. Its poison is extremely powerful. 
Vipera superciliaris. 
Snout round. Body is covered with 27 rows of strongly keeled scales. Colora- 
tion pale reddish-brown or orange, with blackish crossbands which are intersected 
by a yellowish longitudinal band on each side; belly white with black speckles. 
Length 1.8 to 2.5 feet. Mozambique coasts. 
Vipera lebetina. 
Upper jaw obtuse and rounded off with marked prominence. Coloration very 
variable, gray or pale brown above, with a series of large dark speckles; a large 
— of brown is found on the top of the head; belly is whitish and dotted with 
brownish-gray; end of tail yellow. Length 3 feet, but the female may attain 3.5 
feet. Cyprus, Galicia, Asia Minor, Persia, Beluchistan, Morocco, and northern 
India. 
Vipera renardii. 
Resembles Vipera berus, but with the upper jaw more pointed. ‘The coloration 
is like Vipera ursinii of Europe, with slight variation. Length about 2 feet. Cen- 
tral Asia, Turkestan. 
Vipera raddii. 
Coloration pale brown or gray, with a series of small reddish dots in pairs along 
the back; A on head and black band behind the eye; belly yellow, punctulated 
with black and white. Length 3.5 feet. Armenia. 
Genus CAUSUS Wagler. 
Head distinct from neck; eyes moderate, round pupils. Body cylindrical, scales 
smooth or keeled, oblique on the sides; ventrals rounded off. Tail short, subcaudals 
in one or two rows. Four species in this genus. 
Causus rhombeatus. 
Snout obtuse, slightly prominent; the scales in 17 to 21 rows. Coloration olive 
or brown, often with a series of v-shaped brownish speckles, which are rimmed 
t According to Boulenger it can attain a length of over 6 feet. 
