A southern European viper with a single upward-curving horn on the snout, considered the most dangerous snake in Europe.
Description
The nose-horned viper is a stout grey, tan, or pinkish snake usually under a metre with a strong zig-zag dorsal stripe and a small fleshy horn projecting upward from the tip of the snout. The head is broad and triangular, and the eye has a vertical pupil.
Behavior
A slow-moving daytime hunter on cool spring mornings and an evening hunter in the heat of summer, the nose-horned viper ambushes rodents on warm rocks. Its potent neurotoxic and hemorrhagic venom can cause death within hours if untreated, making it the most medically dangerous snake of Europe.
Range
Distributed across the Balkans and parts of southern Europe and western Turkey, with isolated populations as far north as Slovenia and southern Austria. Several subspecies vary in horn size and dorsal pattern across this range.
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Nose-horned Viper starts with N and ends with R. Browse other snakes along the same letter.
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