Really Dangerous! - Hump Nosed Pit Viper

  •  Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Subphylum: Vertebrata
  • Class: Reptilia
  • Order: Squamata
  • Suborder: Serpentes
  • Family: Viperidae
  • Subfamily: Crotalinae
  • Genus: Hypnale
  • Scientific Name: Hypnale hypnale

Many snake species living in Sri Lankan rainforests. Most of them aren't venomous, but this snake we are going to show you is lethally venomous----Hump Nosed Pit Viper

This pit viper is endemic to India and Sri Lanka.  Its build is typical of a venomous pit viper with a stocky body and a broad head. Its snout is pointed, upturned and humped at the end. The shield of the forehead, upper eye, and parietal bone is large, but the shield of the nose is small and irregular.  The color pattern is light grey with heavy brown mottled, covered with double rows of large black dots. The abdomen is brown or yellow with dark mottling. The tip of the tail is yellow or red. It is often found coiled up, and it's head  at about a 5 degree angle from the ground. This pit viper can grow up to 1-1.5 feet. 

Hump Nosed Pit Viper is active early in the morning and late at night. It spends all day in leaf litter and dense undergrowth. Though it moves slowly, it can strike quickly. It has a short temper and swings its tail when angry, a behavior common to other pit vipers, especially the rattlesnakes Crotalus and Sistrurus. It has been described as nocturnal, terrestrial and aggressive when disturbed.  It is now considered highly venomous by Medical Council in Sri Lanka. Also, it is responsible for the highest number of snake bites in Sri Lanka every year. 

When someone is bitten by this pit viper, his two kidneys becomes inactive. Its bite causes very severe pain.  Coma, external ophthalmoplegia, severe diarrhoea, and shock are some of the less commonly identified systemic effects of envenoming. Death is inevitable if left the untreated after a bite due to a severe venomous snake. 

 Hump nose pit viper does not have external ears and uses its tongue and eyes to find food. Rats, frogs, chicks and eggs are its main food.

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