Nocturnal. Usually in areas where other Viperidae are lacking or uncommon. Venomous to humans.
Least Concern
A medium to fairly large snake, with a short, stocky body. Largest specimen has a total length of 890 mm. Tail short, tail / total length = 0.11-0.16. It has 13 supralabials; eye moderate, separated from supralabials by 3 scales, pupil vertical; a supraocular horn-like projection made of several scales; mid-dorsals strongly keeled, laterals almost smooth, 21-23 scale rows around mid-body; 134-138 ventrals, 35-38 paired subcaudals; anal entire. Dorsum sandy, with a pattern of large, brown, rounded, light-edged spots along mid-dorsum, alternating with smaller lateral dark spots; a dark band between the posterior of the eye to the angle of the mouth; tail with a black tip, except in neonates . Venter plain white.
Sinai. Apparently widespread, but lacking from the dune fields of the north. Records include specimens from 64 km north of Nekhel (Flower 1933, GZM 7152), Gebel Maghara (Saleh 1997) and from the St. Katherine airport area. Werner (1973) depicts 3 records; one from the St. Katherine area, one from approximately 29°20'N 33°30'E and one from the general vicinity of Metla Pass. In Israel the species is common in Wadi Ramon (Mendelssohn 1965), not far from the borders with Egypt in the area south of El Quseima.
Sinai, through northern Arabia to western Iran.
Open, sandy or gravelly, desert with moderate scrub cover, often with scattered stones, usually near rocky slopes and hilly or mountainous country. Usually under shrubs or in rodent burrows.
Rare but fairly widespread. Targeted by professional animal collectors as a 'desirable' species. In Egypt it is Vulnerable.
The Persian horned viper (Pseudocerastes persicus), known as the Persian horned viper, false horned viper,[3] and by other common names, is a species of vipers endemic to the Middle East and Asia. Like all other vipers, it is venomous.
Adults average between 40 and 70 cm (16 and 28 in) in total length (body + tail), with a maximum total length of 108 cm (43 in) being reported. Females are usually larger than males. These snakes can attain a considerable weight relative to their size, with specimens sometimes exceeding 500 g (1.1 lb).[3]
The head is broad, flat, distinct from the neck and covered with small, imbricate scales. The snout is short and rounded. The nostrils are positioned dorsolaterally and have valves. The nasal scale is unbroken. The rostral scale is small and wide. The eyes are medium in size with vertically elliptical pupils. There are 15-20 interocular scales and 15-20 circumorbitals. The supraorbital hornlike structure above each eye consists of small, imbricate scales and is also present in juveniles. There are 11-14 supralabials and 13-17 sublabials. 2-4 rows of small scales separate the supralabial scales from the suboculars.[3]
The body is covered with weakly to strongly keeled dorsal scales. On many of these, the keel terminates before the end of the scale and forms a bump. Many others form a point. At midbody, there are 21-25 scale rows, none of them oblique. There are 134-163 ventral scales and 35-50 paired subcaudals. The tail is short.[3]
Persian horned viper, false horned viper,[3] Persian horned desert viper,[4] eye-horned viper.[5]
The species name comes from where it is most usually found, Persia (present-day Iran), and the hornlike structures above its eyes.
Pseudocerastes persicus is found in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, northern Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and throughout Mesopotamia.[6]
The type locality is listed as "Perse" (= Persia).[2]
This species likes sandy (but not sand dune) or basalt and limestone rock desert and hill country, usually with some vegetation. It tends to avoid areas of human habitation.
These snakes are generally rather slow-moving and may employ various methods of locomotion, including sidewinding, serpentine, and rectilinear. They are also terrestrial and almost totally nocturnal, only being seen during the day or early evening during colder periods. It is not particularly aggressive, but will hiss loudly when disturbed. It is not capable of sinking into the sand vertically like Cerastes.[3] These feed mainly on lizards, small mammals, mice and occasionally small birds and arthropods, but will also eat dead food.
It is oviparous, and sexually mature females lay 11-21 eggs. When produced, these already contain well-developed embryos, each of which can be as much as 8.5 cm (3.3 in) in total length. As a result, they hatch after only 30–32 days at 31 °C and then measure 14.0 to 16.2 cm (5.5 to 6.4 in) in total length. They do well in captivity and are relatively easy to breed.[3][7]
Pseudocerastes persicus venom exhibits strong hemorrhagic activity typical of most vipers. No antivenom is available for bites from this species, although it is reported that a polyvalent antiserum does offer some protection.[3][7]
The Persian horned viper (Pseudocerastes persicus), known as the Persian horned viper, false horned viper, and by other , is a species of vipers endemic to the Middle East and Asia. Like all other vipers, it is venomous.
