Wildlifeof India
Russell's Viper
Vipers
Photo: (c) Mittal Gala, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY (May be cropped or resized)
Daboia russelii
Basic stats
Habitat
Terrestrial; generally not at altitude, reported as high as 2,300–3,000m
Range
India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan
Size
Up to 166cm; averages about 120cm on mainland Asia
Russell's viper is a highly venomous snake of the family Viperidae, native to South Asia. The snout is blunt, rounded and raised, the crown of the head is covered with irregular, strongly fragmented scales, and the back scales are strongly keeled, with only the lowest row smooth. It grows to a maximum body-and-tail length of 166 cm and averages about 120 cm in mainland Asia (Wikipedia, general species account).
In India it is described as abundant in Punjab, very common along the west coast and its hills and in southern India, especially Karnataka, and north to Bengal, but uncommon to rare in the Ganges valley, northern Bengal and Assam. It is on the ground and forages mainly at night. Mating is generally early in the year, young are born from May to November, mostly in June and July, and it is a prolific breeder. Generally it is not found at altitude.
Quick answers
- What habitat does the Russell's Viper live in?
- Terrestrial; generally not at altitude, reported as high as 2,300–3,000m
- Where is the Russell's Viper found?
- India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan
- How big is the Russell's Viper?
- Up to 166cm; averages about 120cm on mainland Asia