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

Ho e tseba jwang
- 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
Hangata e ferekanngwa le: 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
Matla a chefo
Chefo e tswa ka meno a yona a chefo (fangs) kapa ka meno a mang ha e loma.
Chefo ya yona (eo e e kenyang ka ho loma kapa ho hlaba) e etsang?
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
E kotsi hakae ho batho?
Kotsi ho batho: E tebilengHo longwa ho hloka ngaka. Lefu le etsahala ka seoelo haholo.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
E etsang ha e tshohile?
If threatened, it forms a C-shaped posture and rapidly rubs its coils together, producing a rasping noise. It is otherwise fairly placid.1
Haeba e loma
- Boloka motho a sa sisinyehe ebile a kgutsitse, boloka setho se lomilweng se lekana le bophahamo ba pelo, tlosa mesale le dintho tse tiileng, mme o mo ise sepetlele kapele.
Kamehla letsetsa nomoro ya tshohanyetso pele (112, 000, 911). Ena ke tataiso e akaretsang ya thuso ya pele, hase keletso ya bongaka. Metheo ya thuso ya pele
Dula o bolokehile
- O se ke wa ama, wa tshwara kapa wa tena phoofolo ya naheng, leha e le e nyenyane, le leha e shebahala e robetse kapa e shwele.
- E fe sebaka. Ha o kopana le yona, dula o kgutsitse, kgutlela morao butle mme o e tlohele e tsamaye ka tsela ya yona.
- Haeba e nngwe e o loma: dula o kgutsitse, o se ke wa sisinyeha, letsetsa nomoro ya tshohanyetso (112, 000, 911) kapa o ye sepetlele kapele. Hopola hore e ne e shebahala jwang, foto e a thusa.
Ha e o batle. E sebedisa chefo ya yona ho tshwara dijo kapa ho itshireletsa, mme e kgetha ho ipata. Ho eketsehileng ka ho dula o bolokehile
Hokae lefatsheng?
E kgolo hakae?
E telele hakae?
e telele jwaloka dikatse tsa lapeng tse 1,5 ho tloha nkong ho isa mohatleng
e telele jwaloka dibanana tse 5 tse latellanang
e ka matha metara e 100 ka metsotswana e 110 (motho ya potlakang ka ho fetisisa o hloka 9,6)Saharan horned viper e kgolo hakae ha e bapiswa le WENA?
Ke dipalo feela ka hara sebatli sa hao. Ha ho letho le bolokwang kapa le romelwang kae kapa kae.
E potlaka hakae?
Dintlha
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
Ho senya ditshomo
Tshomo: All Saharan horned vipers have horns above their eyes.
Nnete: Hornless individuals do occur, although many have the horns.1
Moo dintlha di tswang teng
- Cerastes cerastes (Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
- Cerastes cerastes (iNaturalist): mabitso le tlhophiso.
- Venom Wiki: boemo ba kotsi, boholo bo tlwaelehileng le kakanyo ya lebelo ke tsa rona. Bona kamoo re di balang ka teng: Kamoo re lekanyang kotsi ka teng.
Taba e nngwe le e nngwe leqepheng lena e na le nomoro e bontshang mohlodi wa yona. Haeba re entse phoso, re kopa tshwarelo, re barati ba diphoofolo, hase makasine wa saense. Re bolelle ho [email protected] mme re tla e lokisa.
Ho loma

