Cerastes vipera

Cerastes vipera
Temporal range: Pleistocene-recent[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Cerastes
Species:
C. vipera
Binomial name
Cerastes vipera
Synonyms[4]

Cerastes vipera, common names Sahara sand viper and Avicenna viper, is a viper species endemic to the deserts of North Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. No subspecies are recognized as being valid.[2][3] Like all other vipers, it is venomous.

Description

Adults of Cerastes vipera average 20–35 cm (8–14 in) in total length (body + tail), with a maximum total length of 50 cm (1.6 ft). Females are larger than males.[5] Small and stout, it has a broad, triangular head with small eyes set well forward and situated on the junction of the side and the top of the head.

Behavior

The hunting strategy of Cerastes vipera is unique when compared to that of other viperids because it uses a combination of both sit-and-wait ambushing and active hunting. Active hunting is predominantly used in the months right before hibernation to increase energy intake before the long dormant period.[6] It is known for burying itself in the sand to stay cool, or to ambush prey. When threatened, it coils up into a distinctive c-shape, causing its scales to rub together to produce a rasping or crackling sound.[7]

Common names

Common names for Cerastes vipera include Sahara sand viper,[2][3] Avicenna viper,[5] common sand viper,[8] Egyptian asp, Cleopatra's asp, sand viper,[9] Avicenna's sand viper, and lesser cerastes.[10]

Geographic distribution

In arid North Africa, Cerastes vipera is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Mali, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Egypt.[2][3] In the Sinai Peninsula, it is found in Egypt,[11] and Israel.[2][3]

The type locality given is "Ægypto" (Egypt).[4]

Reproduction

Cerastes vipera is ovoviviparous.[3]

References

  1. ^ Barros, Margarida Isabel Oliveira (2019). Reconstructing the evolutionary history of desert-adapted Cerastes vipers in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (PDF) (Master thesis). Porto, Portugal: Universidade do Porto. xi + 81 pp. ( in English and Portuguese).
  2. ^ a b c d e Wilms, T.; Wagner, P.; Joger, U.; Geniez, P.; Crochet, P.-A.; El Mouden, E.H.; Mateo, J.A. (2013). "Cerastes vipera". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013 e.T178210A15636436. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T178210A15636436.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cerastes vipera at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 7 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  5. ^ a b Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
  6. ^ Horesh, Sefi; Sivan, Jaim; Rosenstrauch, Avi; Tesler, Itay; Degan, A; Kam, Michael (2017). "Seasonal biotic and abiotic factors affecting hunting strategy in free-living Saharan sand vipers, Cerastes vipera". Behavioural Processes. 135: 40–44. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2016.11.013. PMID 27899311. S2CID 2651713.
  7. ^ "Sahara Sand Viper". Sedgwick County Zoo. 2023-10-30. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  8. ^ Gotch, Arthur Frederick (1986). Reptiles — Their Latin Names Explained. Poole, UK: Blandford Press. 176 pp. ISBN 0-7137-1704-1.
  9. ^ Brown JH (1973). Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
  10. ^ U.S. Navy (1991). Poisonous Snakes of the World. New York: United States Government / Dover Publications. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
  11. ^ Abukashawa, Sumaia Mohamed Ahmed; Papenfuss, Theodore J.; Alkhedir, Intesar Salih (2018). "Geographic Distribution: Cerastes vipera (Sahara Sand Viper)". Herpetological Review 49 (1): 75.

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Cerastes vipera, pp. 503–504).
  • Joger, Uhlrich (1984). The Venomous Snakes of the Near and Middle East. Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, A, 12. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. 115 pp. ISBN 3882261994.
  • Linnaeus C (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Coluber vipera, p. 216).
  • Schnurrenberger, Hans (1959). "Observations on Behavior in Two Libyan Species of Viperine Snakes". Herpetologica 15 (2): 70–72. (Aspis vipera).
  • Subach, Aziz; Scharf, Inon; Ovadia, Ofer (2009). "Foraging behavior and predation success of the sand viper (Cerastes vipera)". Canadian Journal of Zoology 87: 520–528. PDF
  • Subach A (2020). "Using animal tracks to decipher the foraging mode of species capable of altering between the sit-and-wait and widely foraging modes: a case study of the sand viper Cerastes vipera". Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution 66 (1/2): 94–100.
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