Why do horned desert vipers have horns?

Why does the horned viper have horns? The horns protect the eyes from the harsh conditions of its environment, especially blown sand.

This pit viper (subfamily Crotalinae) has small horns above each eye, possibly to keep sand from covering the eyes when the snake is buried. It is a nocturnal inhabitant of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico (see Sonoran Desert), where it feeds upon rodents.

A sharp upright scale above each eye resembles a horn. The desert horned viper moves swiftly across the loose sand by sidewinding, throwing oblique loops first with its top half and then with its lower half. With its sharp-edged scales it can shuffle into the sand with amazing speed, burying itself up to the eyes.

Special anatomical, physiological or behavioraladaptations: The "horns" on this viper may help to protect its eyes from injury or may simply contribute to the snake's camouflage. The horned desert viper can burrow quickly into the sand by rapid sideways movements of its body, leaving only the head and eyes visible.

Although we do not know exactly why these scales exist, it is likely that their “horns” protect the snake's eyes from the sun and sand. Sidewinder rattlesnakes can move faster than any other species of snake.

The horned viper injects its venom into its prey through hollow teeth. The venom causes problems with blood clotting, in particular. In rare cases, a viper bite can be fatal to humans.

In venom glands, adult specimens of horned viper have 10-45 mg of venom, and one bite can excrete as much as 20 mg of venom, which can be a lethal dose for a healthy adult, especially children, and chronically ill patients.

Despite their reputation, Nose-horned vipers are not aggressive and tend not to bite without considerable provocation. If surprised, wild specimens may react in a number of different ways. Some remain motionless and hiss loudly, some hiss and then flee, while still others will attempt to bite immediately.

Sahara horned vipers are among the most abundant and easily distinguishable of the venomous snakes of the North African and Middle Eastern deserts. Cerastes cerastes is generally distributed all across North Africa, including southwestern Arabia and southwestern Israel.

These snakes have a reasonably placid temperament, but if threatened, they may hiss, assume a C-shaped posture and rapidly rub their coils together producing a rasping noise. Saharan horned vipers are ambush predators; they hunt their prey laying submerged in sand adjacent to rocks or under vegetation.

This family includes rattlesnakes, horned vipers, copperheads, white-lipped vipers, and ruby-eyed green vipers. Viper snakes live almost everywhere in the world except for on some islands, like Australia and Madagascar, and north of the Arctic Circle. They are best-known for their huge fangs and their deadly venom.

Compared to most snakes in the region, this species is short in length, averaging between 30 and 60 cm. Hatchlings are usually between 12 and 15 cm. Although females are larger, both sexes share the same general body structure and color patterns.

This is one hypothesized reason for males having two penises instead of one: as each hemipenis is associated with one testis and only one side can be used during mating, having a second hemipenis functions as a "backup" and ensures that mating can continue even if one side were to run out of sperm.

Among Cherokee people, a Horned Serpent is called an uktena. Anthropologist James Mooney, describes the creature: Those who know say the Uktena is a great snake, as large around as a tree trunk, with horns on its head, and a bright blazing crest like a diamond on its forehead, and scales glowing like sparks of fire.

-- Most snake bites occur when a snake is handled or accidentally touched by someone walking or climbing. Rattlesnakes, water moccasins and copperhead snakes are responsible for the overwhelming majority of venomous snake bites, and all three are indigenous to the Fort Rucker area.

North Carolina Man Survives Bite From Gaboon Viper, One of the World's Deadliest Snakes.

The inland or western taipan, Oxyuranus microlepidotus, is the most venomous snake in the world, according to Britannica. Native to Australia, this snake has the deadliest venom based on median lethal dose, or LD50, tests on mice.

Antivenom Therapy is the mainstay of treatment for Rhinoceros Horned Viper envenomation. Many of the signs and symptoms are ameliorated or entirely eliminated by the antivenom alone. Other symptoms will require additional therapeutic modalities in order to be corrected.

Antivenom is the treatment for serious snake envenomation. The sooner antivenom can be started, the sooner irreversible damage from venom can be stopped.

It might be obvious, but the thing to do if you are bitten by a venomous snake is to get to a hospital quickly and receive an antidote. Many people think that the venom kicks in instantly, but it can take between 20 minutes and 72 hours to die if left untreated.

The hedgehog (Erinaceidae), the mongoose (Herpestidae), the honey badger (Mellivora capensis) and the opossum are known to be immune to a dose of snake venom.

If you have noticed that vipers like rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and water moccasins tend to look angry, it's mostly due to their protruding scales that gives them a furrowed brow. So it's safe to say that if you see a snake that looks mad, you should probably leave.

European horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) Europe's most dangerous snake. Captive, occurs in south-east Europe. European horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) Europe's most dangerous snake.

By sheer size alone, we are much more of a threat to them than they are to us. And despite beliefs, snakes and even less vipers -that are way too small- don't chase or prey on humans. They are scared of us and will try everything in their power to avoid being detected by potential predators.