Saharan horned viper
The Saharan horned viper is a venomous snake that lives in the deserts of North Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. It has a pair of small, horn-like scales above its eyes. Its venom can cause serious harm, so it is important to know what it looks like.1

Com reconèixer-lo
- A pair of horn-like scales sits above each eye, although some individuals have no horns.1
- Its colour is yellowish, pale grey, pinkish, reddish or pale brown, and almost always matches the sand or soil where it lives.1
- A row of dark, semi-rectangular blotches runs along its back, and the belly is white.1
- Its tail is usually thin and may have a black tip.1
- It moves by sidewinding, pressing its body into the sand and leaving whole-body impressions.1
Sovint es confon amb: Its close relative Cerastes gasperettii was once considered a subspecies of this snake. The Saharan horned viper has a larger head relative to its body and horns are more common in it. When threatened, it rubs its coils together to make a rasping noise, which is similar to the sound made by snakes of the genus Echis, so sound alone does not identify it.1
Poder del verí
El verí surt pels ullals o les dents quan mossega.
Què fa el seu verí?
Its venom is reported to act much like the venom of Echis snakes. A bite usually causes swelling, bleeding (haemorrhage), tissue death (necrosis), nausea, vomiting and blood in the urine. A high level of phospholipase A2, an enzyme that damages cells, may cause heart and muscle damage.1
Com de perillós és per a les persones?
Perill per a les persones: GreuUna mossegada necessita un metge. Les morts són molt rares.The estimated lethal dose of venom for a human is 40–50 mg of dried venom. Its venom is strong enough to cause serious harm in people.1
Què fa quan té por?
If threatened, it forms a C-shaped posture and rapidly rubs its coils together, producing a rasping noise. It is otherwise fairly placid.1
Si mossega
- Mantén la persona quieta i tranquil·la, mantén l'extremitat mossegada a l'altura del cor, treu-li anells i coses que estrenyin i porta-la de pressa a un hospital.
Truca sempre primer al número d'emergències (112, 000, 911). Això són pautes generals de primers auxilis, no consells mèdics. Primers auxilis bàsics
Estigues segur
- No toquis, atrapis ni molestis mai un animal salvatge, encara que sigui petit i encara que sembli adormit o mort.
- Deixa-li espai. Si en trobes un, mantén la calma, recula a poc a poc i deixa que segueixi el seu camí.
- Si te'n mossega un: mantén la calma, no et moguis, truca al número d'emergències (112, 000, 911) o ves de pressa a un hospital. Recorda com era, una foto ajuda.
No va a per tu. Fa servir el verí per caçar o per defensar-se, i prefereix mil vegades amagar-se. Més sobre com estar segur
Que gran és?
Quant fa de llarg?
fa de llarg com 1,5 gats de casa del nas a la cua
fa de llarg com 5 plàtans en fila
podria recórrer 100 metres en 110 segons (l'humà més ràpid necessita 9,6)Que gran és Saharan horned viper comparat amb TU?
Només càlculs al teu navegador. No es desa ni s'envia res enlloc.
Com de ràpid va?
Dades
Its venom is strong enough that an estimated 40–50 mg could be lethal to a human.1
Its scales are strongly keeled, which is what makes its rasping warning sound.1
When it moves by sidewinding, its body leaves impressions in the sand that can be used to count its ventral scales.1
In ancient Egypt, a hieroglyph of this snake was used for the letter f, based on the species name ft.1
Females grow larger than males, and males have larger heads and eyes.1
Desmuntamites
Mite: All Saharan horned vipers have horns above their eyes.
Veritat: Hornless individuals do occur, although many have the horns.1
D'on surten les dades
- Cerastes cerastes (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Cerastes cerastes (iNaturalist): noms i classificació.
- Venom Wiki: el nivell de perill, la mida típica i la velocitat estimada són nostres. Mira com els calculem: Com valorem el perill.
Cada dada d'aquesta pàgina té un número que porta a la seva font. Si ens hem equivocat en alguna cosa, perdona, som fans dels animals, no una revista científica. Escriu-nos a [email protected] i ho arreglarem.
Mossegades

