Field's horned viper

Pseudocerastes fieldi

Field's horned viper, ''Pseudocerastes fieldi'', is a venomous viper species endemic to the deserts of the Middle East. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Persian horned viper. The main differences between this species and the Persian horned viper are in scalation and venom composition.
Pseudocerastes fieldi  Field's horned viper,Geotagged,Israel,Pseudocerastes fieldi,Winter

Distribution

According to McDiarmid et al. ''P. fieldi'' is found in the Sinai Peninsula, Israel, Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia, northwestern Iraq, and possibly in southern Syria.

The type locality given in the original description is "Bair Wells, Transjordania" [Jordan].

According to Mallow et al. it is found in the Sinai Peninsula, southern Israel, Jordan, extreme northern Saudi Arabia, and southwestern Iraq.

Defense

There is a more pronounced difference between the two subspecies with regard to their venom. While Persian horned viper venom exhibits strong hemorrhagic activity typical of most vipers, the venom of ''P. fieldi'' is unusual in that contains several fractions that show marked neurotoxic activity. No antivenin is available for bites from either subspecies. It is reported that a polyvalent antiserum does offer some protection from the hemotoxins, but none against the neurotoxic effects of ''P. fieldi'' venom.

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyViperidae
GenusPseudocerastes
SpeciesP. fieldi
Photographed in
Israel