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

Como recoñecelo
- 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
Adoita confundirse con: 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 da pezoña
A pezoña sae polos seus cairos ou dentes cando morde.
Que fai a súa pezoña?
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
Que perigoso é para as persoas?
Perigo para as persoas: GraveUnha mordedura precisa un médico. As mortes son moi raras.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
Que fai cando ten medo?
If threatened, it forms a C-shaped posture and rapidly rubs its coils together, producing a rasping noise. It is otherwise fairly placid.1
Se morde
- Mantén a persoa quieta e tranquila, mantén o membro mordido á altura do corazón, quítalle aneis e cousas apertadas e vai rápido a un hospital.
Chama sempre primeiro ao teu número de emerxencias (112, 000, 911). Isto son consellos xerais de primeiros auxilios, non consello médico. Primeiros auxilios básicos
Mantente a salvo
- Nunca toques, collas nin molestes un animal salvaxe, aínda que sexa pequeno e aínda que pareza durmido ou morto.
- Déixalle espazo. Se atopas un, mantén a calma, recúa amodo e déixao ir polo seu camiño.
- Se un te morde: mantén a calma, non te movas, chama ao teu número de emerxencias (112, 000, 911) ou vai rápido a un hospital. Lembra como era, unha foto axuda.
Non vai a por ti. Usa a súa pezoña para cazar comida ou para defenderse, e prefire con moito agocharse. Máis sobre como estar a salvo
En que lugar do mundo?
Que tamaño ten?
Canto mide?
mide coma 1,5 gatos domésticos do fociño á cola
mide coma 5 bananas postas en fila
podería percorrer 100 metros en 110 segundos (o humano máis rápido precisa 9,6)Que tamaño ten Saharan horned viper comparado CONTIGO?
Só son contas no teu navegador. Non se garda nin se envía nada a ningures.
Que rápido é?
Datos
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
Desmontamitos
Mito: All Saharan horned vipers have horns above their eyes.
Verdade: Hornless individuals do occur, although many have the horns.1
De onde veñen os datos
- Cerastes cerastes (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Cerastes cerastes (iNaturalist): nomes e clasificación.
- Venom Wiki: o nivel de perigo, o tamaño típico e a velocidade estimada son nosos. Mira como os calculamos: Como valoramos o perigo.
Cada dato desta páxina ten un número que leva á súa fonte. Se nos equivocamos nalgo, sentímolo, somos fans dos animais, non unha revista científica. Dínolo en [email protected] e arranxarémolo.
Morde

