![]() The Rhinoceros Viper is native to the central parts of Africa. These are often considered defining features of the Rhinoceros Viper. They have a large black arrowhead shaped mark on the top of their head and two or three pairs of hornlike scales on the tip of the snout. The scales of the snkae are heavily keeled. Like most of the vipers in the Bitis genus, the Rhinoceros Viper has a distinctive triangular shaped head. ![]() The Rhinoceros Viper is a stout, heavy bodied snake that can grow to lengths of 3-4 feet, with females typically growing larger than males. It was first identified in 1802 as Coluber nasicornis. The Rhinoceros Viper has the scientific name Bitis nasicornis. The species within this genus are known for their behaviour of inflating and deflating their bodies while hissing loudly in an attempt to scare off a potential threat. The Gaboon Viper is the largest viper reaching lengths of up to 7 feet while the Namaqua Dwarf Adder is the smallest, growing to less than 1 foot in length. The Bitis genus contains both the largest and smallest species of Viper in the World. However, they can also be found in the Southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula in Yeman, Oman and Southern Saudi Arabia. This genus contains 15 different species of venomous snakes that are primarily found in sub-Saharan Africa. The Rhinoceros Viper belongs to the Bitis genus. The majority of venomous snakes in Australia are from the Elapid family.Įven though Australia has ‘Adders’, such sa the Common Death Adder, these ‘Adders’ are not related to the ‘Viper’ Adders of Africa and actually belong to the Elapid Family. Vipers are found throughout most of the world but an interesting fact about vipers is that they are not native to Australia. This is one of the most popular families of venomous snakes in the world along with the Elapid family. The Rhinoceros Viper belongs to the Viperidae or Viper family of snakes. In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup. ![]() Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Rhinoceros Viper Taxonomy ![]()
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