Posts tagged asia
Banded Sea Snake
Banded sea snake Laticauda colubrina Description: Smooth-scaled snake that is a pale shade of blue with black bands. Its oarlike tail provides propulsion in swimming. Characteristics: Most active at night, swimming close to shore and at times entering tide pools. Its venom is a very strong neurotoxin. Its victims are usually fishermen who untangle these…
Wagler’s Pit Viper or Temple Viper snake
Wagler’s pit viper or temple viper Trimeresurus wagleri Description: Green with white crossbands edged with blue or purple. It has two dorsal lines on both sides of its head. Characteristics: It is also known as the temple viper because certain religious cults have placed venomous snakes in their temples. Bites are not uncommon; fortunately, fatalities…
Saw Scaled Viper snake
Saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus Description: Color is light buff with shades of brown, dull red, or gray. Its sides have a white or light-colored pattern. Its head usually has two dark stripes that start behind the eye and extend to the rear. Characteristics: A small but extremely dangerous viper. It gets the name saw-scaled from…
Sand Viper snake
Sand viper Cerastes vipera Description: Usually uniformly very pallid, with three rows of darker brown spots. Characteristics: A very small desert dweller that can bury itself in the sand during the day’s heat. It is nocturnal, coming out at night to feed on lizards and small desert rodents. It has a short temper and will…
Russell’s Viper snake
Russell’s viper Vipera russellii Description: Light brown body with three rows of dark brown or black splotches bordered with white or yellow extending its entire length. Characteristics: This dangerous species is abundant over its entire range. It is responsible for more human fatalities than any other venomous snake. It is irritable. When threatened, it coils…
Puff adder snake
Puff adder Bitis arietans Description: Yellowish, light brown, or orange with chevron-shaped dark brown or black bars. Characteristics: The puff adder is the second largest of the dangerous vipers. It is one of the most common snakes in Africa. It is largely nocturnal, hunting at night and seeking shelter during the day’s heat. It is…
Malayan pit viper
Malayan pit viper Callaselasma rhodostoma Description: Reddish running into pink tinge toward the belly with triangular-shaped, brown markings bordered with light-colored scales. The base of the triangular-shaped markings end at the midline. It has dark brown, arrow-shaped markings on the top and each side of its head. Characteristics: This snake has long fangs, is ill-tempered,…
Habu pit viper
Habu pit viper Trimeresurus flavoviridis Description: Light brown or olive-yellow with black markings and a yellow or greenish-white belly. Characteristics: This snake is responsible for biting many humans, and its bite could be fatal. It is an irritable species ready to defend itself. Its venom is hemotoxic, causing pain and considerable tissue damage. Habitat: Found…
Green tree pit viper
Green tree pit viper Trimeresurus gramineus Description: Uniform bright or dull green with light yellow on the facial lips. Characteristics: A small arboreal snake of some importance, though not considered a deadly species. It is a dangerous species because most of its bites occur in the head, shoulder, and neck areas. It seldom comes to…
Cobra
Common cobra or Asiatic cobra Naja naja Description: Usually slate gray to brown overall. The back of the hood may or may not have a pattern. Characteristics: A very common species responsible for many deaths each year. When aroused or threatened, the cobra will lift its head off the ground and spread its hood, making…

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