Common adder

Vipera berus
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. berus
Binomial name
Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Species synonymy  [Coluber] berus Linnaeus, 1758 [Coluber] Chersea Linnaeus, 1758 Coluber prester Linnaeus, 1761 Coluber vipera Anglorum Laurenti, 1768 Coluber Melanis Pallas, 1771 Coluber Scytha Pallas, 1773 C[oluber]. Scytha — Bonnaterre, 1790 Vipera melanis — Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Vipera berus — Daudin, 1803 Vipera chersea — Daudin, 1803 Vipera prester — Daudin, 1803 [Coluber] Caeruleus Sheppard, 1804 Vipera communis Leach, 1817 Coluber chersea var. marasso Pollini, 1818 [Pelias] berus — Merrem, 1820 [Vipera] marasso — Sette, 1821 Vipera limnaea Bendiscioli, 1826 Vipera trilamina Millet, 1828 [Pelias] Chersea — Wagler, 1830 Vipera torva Lenz, 1832 Pelias dorsalis Gray, 1842 V[ipera]. Prester var. gagatina Freyer, 1842 Echidnoides trilamina — , 1844 Vipera Pelias Soubeiran, 1855 Pelias berus var. Prester — Günther, 1858 Pelias berus var. Chersea — Günther, 1858 P[elias berus]. Var. dorsalis — Cope, 1860 P[elias berus]. Var. niger Cope, 1860 V[ipera]. (Pelias) berus — Jan, 1863 V[ipera]. (Pelias) berus var. prester — Jan, 1863 V[ipera]. (Pelias) berus var. lymnaea — Jan, 1863 Pelias Chersea — Erber, 1863 Pelias berus — Erber, 1863 Vipera berus var. prester — Jan & , 1874 Vipera berus [berus] — Boettger, 1889 [Vipera berus] var. montana Méhelÿ, 1893 Vipera berus — Boulenger, 1896 Pelias berus lugubris Kashehenko, 1902 Vipera berus pelias — , 1923 [Vipera (Pelias) berus] forma brunneomarcata , 1923 [Vipera (Pelias) berus] forma luteoalba A.F. Reuss, 1923 [Vipera (Pelias) berus] forma ochracea asymmetrica A.F. Reuss, 1923 [Vipera (Pelias) berus] rudolphi-marchica A.F. Reuss, 1924 [Vipera (Pelias) berus] forma bilineata A.F. Reuss, 1924 Vipera (Pelias) berus forma chersea-splendens A.F. Reuss, 1925 Vipera (Pelias) berus forma ochracea-splendens A.F. Reuss, 1925 Vipera (Pelias) berus forma rutila A.F. Reuss, 1925 Vipera (Pelias) berus forma punctata A.F. Reuss, 1925 Coluber sachalinensis continentalis Nikolski, 1927 P[elias]. sudetica A.F. Reuss, 1927 (nomen nudum) V[ipera]. berus marchici A.F. Reuss, 1927 Vipera berus rudolphi A.F. Reuss, 1927 (nomen nudum) Vipera berus berus — Mertens & L. Müller, 1928 [Pelias] elberfeldi A.F. Reuss, 1929 Pelias rudolphi — A.F. Reuss, 1930 Pelias schöttleri A.F. Reuss, 1930 P[elias]. tyrolensis A.F. Reuss, 1930 Pelias schreiberi A.F. Reuss, 1930 Pelias flavescens A.F. Reuss, 1930 (nomen nudum) Pelias subalpina A.F. Reuss, 1930 (nomen nudum) Pelias neglecta A.F. Reuss, 1932 Vipera berus sphagnosa Krassawzef, 1932 Pelias occidentalis A.F. Reuss, 1933 Pelias occidentalis oldesloensis A.F. Reuss, 1933 (nomen nudum) Pelias occidentalis orbensis A.F. Reuss, 1933 (nomen nudum) Pelias sudetica forma steinii A.F. Reuss, 1935 (nomen nudum) Vipera marchici — A.F. Reuss, 1935 Pelias sudetica steinii forma emarcata A.F. Reuss, 1937 (nomen illegitimum) Vipera (Vipera) berus berus — Obst, 1983 Vipera berus forma brunneomarcata — Golay et al., 1993 Vipera berus forma ochracea-asymmetrica — Golay et al., 1993 Vipera berus forma luteoalba — Golay et al., 1993 Pelias schoettleri — Golay et al., 1993 Coluber coeruleus — Golay et al., 1993 Vipera berus — Golay et al., 1993

Vipera berus, the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous snake that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and as far as East Asia. Known by a host of common names including common adder and common viper, adders have been the subject of much folklore in Britain and other European countries. They are not regarded as especially dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually bites only when alarmed or disturbed. Bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal. The specific name, berus, is New Latin and was at one time used to refer to a snake, possibly the grass snake, Natrix natrix.

The common adder is found in different terrains, habitat complexity being essential for different aspects of its behaviour. It feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards, and amphibians, and in some cases on spiders, worms, and insects. The common adder, like most other vipers, is ovoviviparous. Females breed once every two or three years, with litters usually being born in late summer to early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Litters range in size from three to 20 with young staying with their mothers for a few days. Adults grow to a total length (including tail) of 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) and a mass of 50 to 180 g (1.8 to 6.3 oz). Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies, Vipera berus berus described here. The snake is not considered to be threatened, though it is protected in some countries.

The name "adder" is derived from nædre an Old English word that had the generic meaning of serpent in the older forms of many Germanic languages. It was commonly used in the Old English version of the Christian Scriptures for the devil and the serpent in the Book of Genesis. In the 14th century, "a nadder" in Middle English was rebracketed to "an adder" (just as "a napron" became "an apron" and "a nompere" changed into "an umpire").