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Vipers and pit vipers

14 articles

Bitis

Bitis, the African adders (puff adder, Gaboon viper, rhinoceros viper), is a genus of 18 venomous Viperidae species across Africa and southern Arabia, ranging from under 30 cm to over 2 m, with coagulotoxic venom and major snakebite burden.

Bothrops

Bothrops (lanceheads) is a genus of about 50 venomous pit vipers of tropical America, cause most Latin American snakebites, venoms rich in SVMPs, SVSPs, PLA2; jararaca venom yielded first ACE inhibitors.

Calloselasma

Calloselasma is a monotypic pit viper genus whose single species, the Malayan pit viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma, Ular Kapak Daun), is a hemotoxic Southeast Asian snake of medical importance.

Causus

Causus, night adders, is a genus of small African viperid snakes (300–800 mm) in Viperinae, sister to all other viperine genera, with mild cytotoxic venom, oviparous reproduction, round pupils, and seven to eight recognized species.

Cerastes

Cerastes, the Old World horned vipers, is a viperid genus of North African and Arabian desert snakes including C. cerastes, C. gasperettii, and C. vipera, known for hemotoxic venom, sidewinding locomotion, and antivenom challenges.

Crotalus durissus

Crotalus durissus, known as the tropical, cascabel, or South American rattlesnake, is a highly venomous South American rattlesnake described by Linnaeus in 1758, with six recognized subspecies.

Crotalus viridis

Crotalus viridis, the Prairie Rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper of the North American Great Plains, ranging from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan to northern Mexico.

Daboia

Daboia is a genus of five venomous viper species; the Asian Russell's vipers (D. russelii, D. siamensis) cause most snakebite deaths in India and Southeast Asia through procoagulant venom.

Gloydius

Gloydius (mamushis, Asian moccasins) is a genus of about 31 venomous Asian pitvipers (Viperidae, Crotalinae), named by Hoge & Romano Hoge 1981, ranging from Iran and the Himalaya to Japan and Korea.

Protobothrops

Protobothrops is a monophyletic genus of about 14 Asian lance-headed pit viper species, split from Trimeresurus, originating in southwestern China, medically important for hemorrhagic habu venoms.

Sistrurus

Sistrurus, the massasauga and pygmy rattlesnake genus, is the small sister genus of Crotalus with nine large head plates, three North American species, and a simpler venom of 22 protein families.

Sistrurus catenatus

Sistrurus catenatus, the Eastern Massasauga, is a small venomous pit viper of the North American Great Lakes region, threatened in the US (2016) and Canada (COSEWIC 2025) by habitat loss, road mortality, and persecution.

Trimeresurus

Trimeresurus (Lacépède, 1804), Asian lancehead or bamboo pitvipers, habus: a genus of venomous pit vipers (Viperidae, Crotalinae) across southeast Asia, with over 61 species, a history of taxonomic splitting, and haemorrhagic, fibrinogen-cleaving venom.

Vipera

Vipera (true vipers, adders) is a genus of venomous Eurasian Viperinae snakes erected by Laurenti in 1768, holding about two dozen species including V. berus, V. aspis, and V. ammodytes, distinct from the split-off genera Daboia, Macrovipera, and Montivipera.