📸 PhotoPhoto: AChawla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Russell's Viper
Daboia russelii (Russell's Viper · ラッセルクサリヘビ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its total length of 1.6 m is similar to the height of an adult human (Comparison).
- 💡 The Reptile Database notes that this snake causes more than half of all reported snakebite incidents in South Asia.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
Russell's Viper is a venomous snake living across South Asia from Pakistan to India and Sri Lanka, and is among the most common dangerous venomous snakes in South Asia.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It lacks a heat-sensing pit between the eye and nostril, and its head is distinctly wider than its neck. Three rows of large brown blotches edged in black run down its light brown back, and its belly is yellowish-white.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It gives birth to 5–50 young via eggs that hatch inside the body. The Reptile Database notes that this snake accounts for more than half of all reported snakebites.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/172710/1372376
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 33SV5
- • iucnredlist.org — 1372376
- • wikidata.org — Q330548
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Daboia russelii A Chawla01.jpg
- • reptile-database.reptarium.cz — species
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Beth Reinke · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Vipera berus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.