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viper are a large family of snakes ; the scientific name is Viperidae . They are line up all over the world , with the exceptions of Antarctica , Australia , New Zealand , Madagascar , north of the Arctic Circle and island clusters such as Hawaii .
The mob Viperidae includesadders , pit viper ( likerattlesnakes , cottonmouthsandcopperheads ) , the Gaboon viper , green viper and horned viper .
The ruby-eyed green pit viper (Trimeresurus rubeus) was discovered in Vietnam in 2011.
All vipers are venomous and have long , hinged fang . " Generally more venomous vipers are in tropic region , particularly South America and Africa , " said Alan Savitzky , a prof of biologic science at Utah State University specializing in the biology of snakes . Vipers found in cold , northern climates , such as the black or European adder have more restrained venom .
[ Image gallery : Hydra of the World ]
Physical characteristics
Vipers crop wide in sizing , though are generally stocky with short tails . One of the globe ’s little vipers is the Mao - Lan fossa viper ( Protobothrops maolanensis ) , which was discovered inChinain 2011 . They are less than 2 metrical unit ( 61 centimeters ) long , accord toNational Geographic . The long viper — and the longest virulent serpent in the Americas — is the South American Bushmaster ( Lachesis muta ) , which maturate to more than 11 feet ( 335 cm ) , according to theUniversity of Michigan ’s Animal Diversity Web(ADW ) .
Almost all vipers have a distinctive triangular head , according toDiscovermagazine . This head shape is due to the emplacement of their big spitefulness glands in the mouth . Some nonvenomous specie have germinate a similarly shaped headspring in ordering to potentially trick predators into reckon they are vipers . Additionally , most viper have keel scales , vertically elliptical pupils and tinge and patterns that serve as camouflage .
Fangs
Like other pit vipers, copperhead snakes give birth to live young.
Vipers are recognize for their extreme fang , which are prospicient , vacuous , hinged and rotatable , according to an article in the journalPhysiological and Biochemical Zoology . These Fang link up to venom glands located behind the eye at the back upper part of the jaw . Venom travels down through the follow teeth to be interject into fair game as the viper insect bite .
Vipers can rotate their fangs together or independently , which allows them to wait until the last second base to erect their fangs . Their mouth can open closely 180 degrees so the ability to go around their fangs within that space is an advantage . When not in enjoyment , vipers ’ hinged fang fold up and lie against the roof of the snake ’s lip . This allows their fangs to uprise relatively long , according to Andrew Solway , author of " Deadly Snakes " ( Heinemann - Raintree , 2005 ) .
Vipers can gallop their fangs and morsel without shoot venom . This is known as a ironical bite and is common in human snakebite . Dry sharpness enable vipers to conserve their previous venom , which can guide out and takes a while to replenish , according to an clause in the journalTropical and Geographical Medicine .
Habitat
Vipers ' habitat variegate across their virtually oecumenical range . They live in muckle , rain forest , fields and deserts .
Behavioral, hunting and feeding habits
loosely , vipers are nocturnal . They often appear slow equate to other snake , according toNicolae Sfetcu , author of " Reptiles : Crocodiles , Alligators , Lizards , Snakes , Turtles " ( Lulu Press , 2011 ) . This is because many vipers rely on their camouflage for trade protection rather than their power to move quickly . They are more inclined to merge in with the skirt brush , rock music or basis cover when being approach by a predator than to slither away .
Nevertheless , vipers have a quick tap . For example , Africa ’s puff Vipera berus can strike at a speed of a after part of a second , according toPerry ’s Bridge Reptile Parkin South Africa .
Their perceived sluggishness impacts their hunting tactics . " Most vipers are ambush predatory animal , " said Savitzky . " They detect where prey is most probable to be chemically and just wait . Because they ’re not expend a lot of energy , low resting metabolic rate , and eat large things , they can afford to do that . "
viper exhaust a variety of food depending on the size of it of the snake . Prey let in little mammals , birds , lizards and eggs , according to Savitzky . When their prey is stagnant , they swallow it whole .
Vipers enlist in a hunting action called fair game relocation , according to an clause inBMC Biologyjournal . This mean that once they have identify their quarry , they strike it and inject spitefulness . They then straightaway release the prey so that it can not burn back . The bitten prey stray off , go bad and the viper utilize its sense of olfactory property to notice it .
Bite
The stiffness of a viper pungency depends on the species and if it was a wet or dry bite , which contains no venom . Savitzky pointed out that European vipers ( adders ) have comparatively moderate venom that is not extremely deadly , while Gaboon viper , which are found in sub - Saharan Africa , have highly potent venom .
" viper in general lean to have enzymetic malice that impress universal tissue , " Savitzky said . It causes vivid swelling , annoyance and sphacelus , which is cell death and decline . It also functions as an anticoagulant . Death usually occurs from a striking prostration in blood pressure . All viper bites should be treated seriously and medical tending should be paid .
In gain to kill prey and injuring predators , viper venom help vipers bear their food for thought , according to Sfetcu . Since they swallow their target whole , digesting it is a magnanimous job not help by vipers ' generally ineffective digestive system . The spite break down lipids , acid and proteins in the prey during the digestive process .
Reproduction
Most vipers are ovoviviparous , Savitzky said . That means the eggs are fertilize and brood inside the female parent and she make birthing to live youthful . " But , " he tote up , " That is not true of some basal Asian pit vipers . And all New World endocarp viper but one have live birth . That one is the Bushmaster viper and it has re - evolved testicle set . "
Vipers ' sexual union season , activities and testicle brooding time depends on the species .
Taxonomy/classification
According to theIntegrated Taxonomic Information System(ITIS ) , there are more than 200 species of viper . The taxonomy of vipers is :
realm : Animalia Subkingdom : Bilateria Infrakingdom : Deuterostomia Phylum : Chordata Subphylum : Vertebrata Infraphylum : Gnathostomata Superclass : Tetrapoda Class : Reptilia Order : Squamata Suborder : Serpentes Infraorder : Alethinophidia Family : Viperidae Subfamilies :
Types of vipers
The chase are description of some in particular fascinating viper .
Gaboon viper(Bitis gabonica )
Gaboon vipersare the largest viper in the world , reaching lengths of up to 7 foot ( 213 cm ) and more than 22 pound . ( 10 kilograms ) , accord to the ADW . Females are significantly longsighted than male . Though the South American Bushmaster is long , the Gaboon viper is labored . Savitzky noted that Gaboon viper are of the adder ancestry , so referring to them as Gaboon adder is also correct . They live throughout sub - Saharan Africa in rainforests and other tropical field . They drop most of their time lie in wait among leaf litter .
Gaboon vipers ' real claims to celebrity are their extraordinary recollective fangs — the longest of any snake , aver Savitzky . Gaboon vipers ' fangs can be up to 2 inches ( 5 atomic number 96 ) long . They also have potent venom . They mostly eat modest mammal , birds and amphibious aircraft , but have been recorded eating small antelopes and elephantine git , accord to the ADW .
colliery vipers
Pit vipers are a subfamily ( Crotalinae ) of vipers . There are about 190 species , according toITIS . Pit viper are find throughout the Americas , Europe and Asia . All vipers in the Americas are pit vipers , accord toThe University of Pittsburgh . " Pit vipers plainly have their basal species in Asia and then a lot of radiation in the New World , " say Savitzky .
" They are all secern by the comportment of the pit organ on either side of the face , " he continued . " These are infrared receptor . They detect heat vigour . Pit viper see the man in a combination of heat and light . The receptors detect strong full-blooded prey but also can detect stale blooded target , though they ’re more antiphonal to warm . "
Some species of pit vipers let in rattlesnakes , cottonmouths , copperheads , lanceheads and bushmasters .
fleeceable vipers
Several types of snake are cite to as dark-green viper due to their coloring . They include the Chinese dark-green viper ( Trimeresurus stejnegeri),the unripened night adder ( Causus resimus ) , the Great Lakes bush viper ( Atheris nitschei)and the newly discoveredruby - eyed green pit viper(Cryptelytrops rubeus ) . These are all Old World snakes , discover in Africa and Asia .
Probably the most famous of the green vipers isTrimeresurus albolabris , also called green pit viper or white - lipped viper . They are found in Southeast Asia , India and southern China , fit in toThe University of Adelaide ’s Clinical Toxinology Resources . These vibrant viper are a promising Kelly green and have vivid yellow eyes . Their jaw are white or yellow , presumably impart rise to their white - lipped name . Male have a minute livid banding work down the sides of their physical structure .
Horned vipers
Several type of snakes are touch to as horned vipers due to the presence of automobile horn - forge scales on their face . They include the Saharan horn viper or desert horned viper ( Cerastes cerastes ) , the Arabian horned viper or Middle Eastern horned viper ( Cerastes gasperettii ) , the horned puff common viper ( Bitis caudalis ) and the nose - tusk viper ( Vipera ammodytes ) , which has a cornet at the top of its olfactory organ . The other species have a horn over each eye .
All horn vipers live in Africa and the Middle East but the nose - tusk viper , which are found in Europe and Asia . A young species , namedMatilda ’s tusk viper(Atheris matildae ) was discovered in Tanzania in 2012 . [ exposure : Vivid Images of New Snake Species ]
The automobile horn are made ofsingle or multiple scales , depending on the mintage , agree to the ADW . Not all horn vipers have horns ; sometimes the same clutch of testicle will yield animals with and without horns . The trumpet can turn away back to be flat against the head , which is utilitarian when the snake is going down a burrow .
The purpose of car horn is uncertain . Some scientist speculate that horn break up the outline of the animal , make it more hard for predatory animal to see . Others chew over that the horns may help protect the Hydra ’s eyes from sand in some way . This would explain why ophidian with horn over their eyes are found in comeupance .
Eyelash cavity viper(Bothriechis schlegelii )
Called both theeyelash pit viperand lash palm pit viper , these small snakes are found in Central America and northerly South America . They are refer for the bristly scale above their eyes , which resemble eyelashes or lens hood . They are also distinguishable by their bright coloration and appear in vivacious yellows or green ( the most common coloration ) , pinko , purples , atomic number 47 , dark gray or brown , harmonize to the ADW . Their coloring is camouflage and allows them to blend in with banana bunches or flowers .
They average around 2 feet ( 61 cm ) in distance and are one of the smallest poisonous snakes in their cooking stove . They are for the most part arboreal .
The purpose of the cilium is unknown , harmonize to the ADW . Some scientists have suggested they protect the viper ' eyes as they move through thick flora .
Endangerment status
accord to theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN ) , 57 species of viper are considered near threaten , conservation - pendant , vulnerable , endangered or critically endangered , extinct or out in the state of nature . Some of the uncommon vipers are the prosperous lancehead ( Bothrops insularis ) , which is found only on a small island off the coast of Brazil , and the Santa Catalina rattlesnake , which is find only on Santa Catalina Island in the Gulf of California in Mexico . concord to IUCN , this snake has decline principally due to overcollecting .
Additional resource
