Cerastes vipera facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cerastes vipera Temporal range: Pleistocene-recent
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Cerastes
Species:	vipera
Synonyms
[Coluber] vipera Linnaeus, 1758 Aspis Cleopatrae Laurenti, 1768 Vipera Aegyptia Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Vipera aegyptiaca Daudin, 1803 Aspis Cleopatra — Gray, 1842 Cerastes Richiei Gray, 1842 Echidna atricauda A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 Vipera Avicennae Jan, 1859 V[ipera]. (Echidna) Avicennae — Jan, 1863 Vipera avizennae [sic] Strauch, 1869 Cerastes vipera — Boulenger, 1891 Cerastes vipera — Boulenger, 1896 Cerastes vipera inornatus F. Werner, 1929 Aspis vipera — Kramer & Schnurrenberger, 1959 Cerastes vipera — Joger, 1984

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 currently recognized. Like all other vipers, it is venomous.

Description

C. vipera, neonate.

Adults average 20–35 cm (8-14 inches) in total length (body + tail), with a maximum total length of 50 cm (1.6 ft). Females are larger than males. 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.

Their hunting strategy is unique when compared to that of other viperids because they use 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.

Common names

Common names include Sahara sand viper, Avicenna viper, common sand viper, Egyptian asp, Cleopatra's asp, sand viper, Avicenna's sand viper, and lesser cerastes.

Geographic range

In arid North Africa, it is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Mali, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Chad and Egypt. In the Sinai Peninsula, it is found in Egypt, Sudan and Israel.

The type locality given is "Ægypto" (Egypt).