(Cerastes cornutus, pp. Size and shape: Typically just under two feet in length, robust and cylindrically depressed body, narrow neck, thick midsection, tapering tail.

It is mainly active at night, spending the day in seclusion in the sand, abandoned burrows or under rocky outcrops. Cerastes is a genus of small, venomous vipers found in the deserts and semi-deserts of northern North Africa eastward through Arabia and Iran. Horned desert viper is a poisonous viper species native to North Africa and parts of the Middle East. Upper parts of horned viper are usually sandy, yellowish, pale brown or grayish, covered with light brown crossbars or … Three species are currently recognized by "ITIS" (Integrated Taxonomic Information System), and an additional recently described species is recognized by the Reptile Database. 502–503). Volume III., Containing the...Viperidæ. 85-95 cm The Nose-horned viper is a venomous snake found in southern Europe and parts of the Middle East. Currently, there are no recognized subspecies of this species. In Egypt, these snakes are called el-ṭorîsha (حية الطريشة); in Libya, they are called um-Goron (ام قرون).

London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). + Plates I.- XXV. The most distinctive characteristic of theses snakes is a single "horn" on their snout. (Taylor and Francis, printers). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Females are larger than males. Head:Broad, flat and round-snouted, with center-ridged (or keeled) scales; forward-set moderately large eyes with vertical pupils (much like those of the Southwestern rattlesnakes); distinctive supraorbital horns (which may not always be present in all populations or eve… characteristics.

Both species are small (seldom more than 60 cm [about 2 feet] long), stocky, and broad-headed and are found….

Vipers range widely in size, though are generally stocky with short tails. The desert horned viper moves swiftly across the loose sand by sidewinding, throwing oblique loops first with its top half and then with its lower half. They are less than 2 feet (61 centimeters) long, according to National Geographic.

Color of the body matches with the colors of the environment. Common names for members the genus include horned vipers, North African desert vipers, and cerastes vipers. It is reputed to be the most dangerous of the European vipers due to its large size, long fangs, and high venom toxicity.

• Boulenger GA. 1896.

With its sharp-edged scales it can shuffle into the sand with amazing speed, burying itself up to the eyes.

xiv + 727 pp. 2. Interesting Horned viper Facts: Horned viper can reach 12 to 24 inches in length.

The Desert Horned Viper ranks as the most abundant and distinctive venomous snake within its range: 1. The species is known to possess a quiet and calm temperament. The longest viper — and the longest venomous snake in the Americas — is the South American Bushmaster (Lachesis muta), which grows to more t… There are two species, the horned viper ( C. cerastes ), which usually has a spinelike scale above each eye, and the common, or Sahara, sand viper ( C. vipera ), which lacks these scales. One of the world’s smallest vipers is the Mao-Lan pit viper (Protobothrops maolanensis), which was discovered in China in 2011.