Suborder Serpentes Subfamily Viperinae Higher classification Cerastes Order Scaled reptiles | Subphylum Vertebrata Genus Cerastes Phylum Chordata Rank Species | |
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Similar Cerastes, Snake, Vipers, Cerastes cerastes, Cerastes vipera | ||
Arabian hornviper cerastes gasperettii iii
Cerastes gasperettii, commonly known as the Arabian horned viper, is a venomous viper species found especially in the Arabian Peninsula and north to Palestine and Iran. It is very similar in appearance to C. cerastes, but the geographic ranges of these two species do not overlap. No subspecies of C. gasperettii are currently recognized.
Contents
- Arabian hornviper cerastes gasperettii iii
- Desert horned viper cerastes gasperettii
- Etymology
- Description
- Geographic range
- References
Desert horned viper cerastes gasperettii
Etymology
The specific name, gasperettii, is in honor of John Gasperetti, an American surveyor, engineer, and herpetologist, who collected the holotype specimen.
Description
The average total length (body + tail) is 30–60 cm (12–24 in), with a maximum total length of 85 cm (33 in). Females are usually larger than males.
Geographic range
In the Arabian Peninsula it has been found in Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is found in the Arava valley, located on the border between southern Israel and Jordan, eastwards through Jordan and Iraq to Khuzistan Provence in southwestern Iran.
The type locality given is "Beda Azan [23°41'N., 53°28'E.], Abu Dhabi [Abū Zaby]" [United Arab Emirates].
