Can someone tell me this snake ID?

[rony]

I've found a desert snake in a trip.
you can see the snake in this video:

youtube.com/watch?v=z7-1OCJ115Y

the coolest thing with this snake is that it hissing by rubbing it's body with itself!

z7-1OCJ115Y

[marvelfreak]

Looks like a Russell Viper to me.

[Roman]

Did you take this video in southern Israel?

It is a Sahara Horned Viper (Cerastes cerastes). If you look at the head you can see the two horns above the eyes (at sec 3 – 5 of the video).

Other distinguishing marks are
- the head shape
- the coloration and the dark rectangular blotches
- the Horned Viper has also “rattling scales”

When you wrote about the “hissing” sound by rubbing it’s body my first thought was “Saw Scaled Viper” (Echis carinatus or Echis coloratus), but the coloration and the head shape don’t fit and Echis has no horns.

Here is a picture of Echis coloratus


http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy105/elaphe420/Echis-coloratus-2_zpsd8ac5919.jpg


@ Marvelfreak
Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelii) is from India (and eastern Pakistan) and it does not live in deserts. The coloration is also different and it has no horns. There is a species of Daboia in Israel, the Palestine Viper (Daboia palaestinae), but again it has no horns, the coloration is different and it doesn’t live in the desert, even if it is better adapted to dryer conditions than Russell’s Viper.

[SSSSnakes]

Did you take this video in southern Israel?

It is a Sahara Horned Viper (Cerastes cerastes). If you look at the head you can see the two horns above the eyes (at sec 3 – 5 of the video).

Other distinguishing marks are
- the head shape
- the coloration and the dark rectangular blotches
- the Horned Viper has also “rattling scales”

When you wrote about the “hissing” sound by rubbing it’s body my first thought was “Saw Scaled Viper” (Echis carinatus or Echis coloratus), but the coloration and the head shape don’t fit and Echis has no horns.

Here is a picture of Echis coloratus


http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy105/elaphe420/Echis-coloratus-2_zpsd8ac5919.jpg


@ Marvelfreak
Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelii) is from India (and eastern Pakistan) and it does not live in deserts. The coloration is also different and it has no horns. There is a species of Daboia in Israel, the Palestine Viper (Daboia palaestinae), but again it has no horns, the coloration is different and it doesn’t live in the desert, even if it is better adapted to dryer conditions than Russell’s Viper.Cerastes cerastes

From what I can see and where you are from, I would have to agree it is a
Cerastes ceraste. This was one of my favorite snakes that I used to keep.

[warehouse13fan]

depending on the location you were it could be a saw scaled viper..... i cant watch the video until i get home but by your description it sounds like s saw scale.

[Roman]

depending on the location you were it could be a saw scaled viper..... i cant watch the video until i get home but by your description it sounds like s saw scale.

Did you even bother to read SSSSnakes and my replies? :(


If you watch the video you can see a horn above each eye, so it can’t be a saw scaled viper.

Please don’t post any wild guesses without having seen the video in the first place. My first thought when I read about the “hissing” was also “saw scaled viper”, but then I watched the video and checked the distribution of Cerastes cerastes, Echis carinatus and Echis coloratus. As I posted in my first reply it can’t be any Echis, it is Cerastes cerastes.

Roman

[bigsnakegirl785]

Looks like a Russell Viper to me.

It looks nothing like a Russell's viper: http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/ReptilesofPakistan/russellsviper.jpg

[marvelfreak]

You people seem to think i give a damn about what it is " I don't". I just say it looked like a Russell because when i looked up pictures this one look similar. All i know for sure is it a viper and it not something you want to mess with or get bit by.

http://bangkokherps.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/hans-brueur-russells-viper-in-taiwan.jpg

[Roman]

You people seem to think i give a damn about what it is " I don't". I just say it looked like a Russell because when i looked up pictures this one look similar. All i know for sure is it a viper and it not something you want to mess with or get bit by.

Hi Chuck :)


Why do you think I might imply you didn’t care about what it is? Because I didn’t. I just wanted to point out why it can’t be a Russell’s Viper or a saw scaled viper but that it is a Sahara Horned Viper and why I am convinced about it. You guessed wrong – so what? I didn’t want to imply anything else – and I didn’t write anything else.

And you are absolutely right that you don’t want to get bitten by this one, Cerastes has a nasty bite and can be quite aggressive…

Roman