Elapids Page
FAMILY: VIPERIDAE
The vipers represent the pinnacle of venomous snake evolution. Even those people who who have a fear regarding these wonderful creatures must admire the efficiency of their design, which depends upon a long pair of hinged fangs which lay flat against the roof of the mouth when not needed, but can flip forward and lock into place so fast when the jaws swing open. There are three subfamilies; one the Azemiopinae, has but a single member, Fea's viper ( Azemiops feae ) of southern China and neighbouring regions. The Old World vipers of the Viperinae are considered somewhat more primitive than the Crotalinae, or pit vipers, which possess thermoreceptive pits between the eye and the nostril that helps them to locate prey.
 
SUBFAMILY: VIPERINAE

The Viperinae are restricted to the Old world, and include some of the planets most deadly snakes, including the saw-scaled viper and the puff adder. Although Shakespeare credits Cleopatra's suicide to an asp (perhaps the desert horned viper, Cerastes cerastes), modern thinking is that it was a cobra, revered in Egypt and providing a relatively easy death, would be a more logical choice than the violently painful venom of a viper.

 

GABOON VIPER

Bitis gabonica
The Gaboon viper, is one of the heavyweights among its peers, this snake can reach 7ft in length and has the longest fangs of any snake-more than 2 inches long. The overall body structure of this snake makes this an awe
inspiring animal. This snake is known to be a slow moving animal and is not easily irritated, it prefers to rely on its almost perfect forest floor camouflage than on its potent venom for protection. There are few known reported deaths from this snake although the potency and quantity makes this an extremely dangerous animal. This snake is found in rainforests across central Africa, where they ambush prey ranging from birds, mammals and occasionally taking prey as large as small antelopes.

PUFF ADDER

Bitis arietans

This snake is highly feared as it is a leading cause of snakebites in sub-Saharan Africa, even so the mortality rate from this snake is probably lower than that of the saw-scaled viper, the problem with getting exact
figures is that in Africa people are bitten so far away from civilisation that they die without it being noticed. Puff adders are large and very heavily built, they average around 4ft in length. Their colouration is a cryptic mix of buff, brown and black with alternating light and chevrons down the back. The powerful venom of the puff adder is said to have been used in a bizarre form of hunting, large snakes were caught and tied along game trails where they injected animals as large as Cape buffalo's.

SAW - SCALED VIPER

Echis carinatus

Also known as the carpet viper, this small desert ranging snake is considered the most dangerous snake over its habitat, which is from India through the Middle East to East Africa. In some regions, mortality from
this snakes bite exceed 80% and a lethal dose can be inflicted by a specimen less than 12 inches long. The powerful venom is hemotoxic causing massive bleeding at the wound site and internally causing great pain. Saw-scaled vipers are so called due to the serrated scales on their lower flanks, which are dragged across each other as the snake uses its figure of eight threat display. The scales make a rasping sound, which is used in conjunction with a very loud hiss.

EUROPEAN ADDER

Vipera berus

The only native venomous snake in Great Britain and northern Europe, the adder has an enormous range spanning Europe and Asia as far as Korea. It is the only snake found north of the Arctic circle, allowing it to
the extreme cold winters of Russia. Adders are a fairly small animal rarely longer than 2ft but are known to reach 3ft or so. The background colour ranges from grey and olive to yellow or brown, with a dark zigzag pattern running down the length of its back, and a 'v' or 'x' shape on the head region. Because of its small size and reasonably placid disposition the European adder rarely causes human fatalities.
SUBFAMILY: CROTALINAE
The Crotilanae is primarily a New World subfamily, reaching its greatest diversity in the south-western deserts (among rattlesnakes) and the Neotropics (the various palm and related vipers, many formally in the genus Bothrops). There are also a number of tree vipers, Agkistrodon moccasins and other pit vipers which are from Asia. The distinctive mark of the Crotalinae are their heat-sensing facial pits, located between the nostril and the eye. The pits provide the snake with a highly accurate targeting system for hunting warm blooded animals in the dark.

COTTONMOUTH

Agkistrodon piscivorous

Perhaps its more common name is the water moccasin, the cottonmouth is a semi-aquatic pit viper found in the southern US lowlands, from Virginia to central Texas and north in the Mississippi basin to Illinois.
They are a stout bodied animal which have light and dark crossbarring against a dusky coloured background, with a light face and pronounced postocular line. Western species tend to be all dark as in the picture. These snakes have what I call a pugnacious attitude, they will frequently stand their ground when harassed and will often open their mouths to display the white interior which gives them their name.

COPPERHEAD

Agkistrodon contortrix

This is probably one of the least dangerous of the venomous snakes in the US. the copperhead has a placid temperament and relatively weak venom. Bites are uncommon and only a child is really in any danger.
Copperheads are a really attractive snake, blending browns, pinks, oranges or yellows in a series of dark hourmarked, with a brighter line of yellow or orange around the mouth; the belly is plain except for the dark spots along the edge. This snake is from the uplands, and is found in the same habitats as timber rattlers, and may even share the same den sites. Copperheads are born in sacs, the last relic of an egg, once they free themselves from this the 9inch snakes are already poisonous to kill small prey. There are several subspecies, the northern copperhead is the duskiest, while the southern is a lot paler. Copperheads are found from southern New England to south-eastern Nebraska, south to Florida and central Texas.

EYELASH PALM-PITVIPER

Bothreichis schlegelii formally Bothrops schlegelii

The Neotropics are abundant in small arboreal pit vipers, and most are amazingly marked. The eyelash viper is probably one of the prettiest, and most variable patternations around. It can range from glowing yellow,
orange, purplish, green or a combination of all including speckled and flecked. They are identified by their jagged supraorbitals, which form a scaly 'eyelash'. Eyelash vipers are primarily arboreal waiting stealthily in the thick foliage for a prey item to come within their reach. They are a short, slim snake with a prehensile tail and are perfectly adapted for hunting rodents, lizards and frogs. They have developed a strike method that they hold onto the prey once bitten unlike other vipers as otherwise the prey item would fall out of the tree and drop to the ground which could be anything upto 150ft.

FER - DE - LANCE

Bothrops asper formally Bothrops atrox

On every continent there is one snake feared above all others, and in Central and South America this snake is it, as it causes more fatalities than any other species. There are many different names for this snake
from yellow-jaw, yellow tail, barba amarilla and tommigoff. This species can attain lengths of 8ft, although a bite from a much smaller specimen can be deadly. The venom is hemotoxic showing signs of extensive bleeding internally and at the wound itself, which shows similar characteristics to that of the bite from a Bushmaster. Fer -de-lances are cryptically patterned as to blend in with their surroundings, the background colour is a variable shade of light brown with dark arrowhead markings forming offset pairs down the spine. There is a dark postocular line down either side of the head.

BUSHMASTER

Lachesis muta

This is the longest venomous snake in the New World, they achieve lengths of over 12ft but the average is around 7 to 8ft. Despite its size and massive venom yield this species is responsible for very few cases
of human fatalities. They are similar in ways to the King cobra as they are both shy animals and very scarce across their domain. The bushmaster is a nocturnal hunter that shies away from developed areas preferring undisturbed forest. The bushmaster can be found from Central America to the Amazon basin. This snake is heavy bodied with a very powerful looking head structure. Their background body colour is light brownish, yellowish or reddish, with inverted triangles along the spine.
The rattlesnake is, with the cobra the most unmistakable snake in the world. Almost everyone would recognise the bony tail segments that make up the snakes rattle. And I would think most people would have heard it for real or at least on TV, as this is their early warning system, Even so some rattlesnakes habitually do not use their rattle. There are around 30 species of rattlesnakes with most found in the south-west of the US. and Mexico. One species, the Timber rattlesnake ( Crotalus horridus ) is found as far north-east as southern New England. I am going to write about a 4 of the species if you want to know more there are plenty of pages on the web that go into a lot more detail than I do.

TIMBER RATTLESNAKE

Crotalus horridus

Although most species of rattlesnake have adapted to arid or desert environments the timber rattler as found its niche in the US occupying the lush forests of the east and south, living on rocky slopes and wooded
valleys. There are two common phases - yellow or tan background with dark crossbars or blotches and the 'black phase', usually very dusky with just a hint of patternation. The phases are unrelated to sex and age. Timber rattlers reach an average size of 3 to 4ft but can get to 6ft. They are rodent ambush hunters waiting -at times for days -along runs that mice and chipmunks use. The canebreak rattlesnake (C. h. atricaudatus ) is a subspecies of the timber rattler and is found from Texas to southern Virginia, preferring wetter habitats than the timber rattler.

EASTERN DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE

Crotalus adamanteus

The eastern diamonback rattler is the largest venomous snake in North America, reaching 8ft or more.It inhabits pine flatwoods and saw palmetto thickets, it is found on the coastal plains which stretch from
Louisiana to North Carolina. The face is marked with dark and light lines and the diamonds along the spine are edged with black and cream. This is a dangerous snake, if only for its size and tolerance of lightly developed areas, such as wooded neighbourhoods.

WESTERN DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE

Crotalus atrox

An angry western diamondback is a very imposing snake, while it does not reach the size of the eastern - maximum 6ft the western has a dramatical threat display, in which the head and neck are raised high
above the groundin a tight 'S' shape with the tail prominently displayed. western diamondbacks are not as clearly marked as the eastern and the background colou varies from grey or buff brown and even reddish; the markings though are indistinct. It is found from Texas and Oklahoma to southern California.

SIDEWINDER

Crotalus cerastes

Any snake trying to move through loose sand will 'sidewind' that is it will throw out a 'S' shaped loop in the direction of travel, thus anchoring itself while drawing the rest of the body along behind. The sidewinder
rattlesnake of the American south-west has acheived a notoriety for this manoeuvre, common among desert snakes the world over. Sidewinders also known as 'horned rattlesnakes' for their pointed supraocular scales. The background colour is pale buff or grey with small dark blotches or spots. It is a relatively small snake usually less than 2ft and feeds largely on nocturnal rodents.