Russell's viper

Russell's viper
A Russell's viper at the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Daboia Gray, 1842
Species:	D. russelii
Binomial name
Daboia russelii (Shaw & Nodder, 1797)
Daboia russelli distribution
Synonyms
Genus synonymy Daboia Gray, 1842 Chersophis Fitzinger, 1843 Daboya Hattori, 1913 Species synonymy Coluber russelii Shaw & Nodder, 1797 Coluber daboie Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Coluber trinoculus Schneider In Bechstein, 1802 Vipera daboya Daudin, 1803 Vipera elegans Daudin, 1803 Coluber triseriatus Hermann, 1804 Vipera russelii — Gray, 1831 Daboia elegans — Gray, 1842 Daboia russelii — Gray, 1842 Daboia pulchella Gray, 1842 Echidna russellii Steindachner, 1869

Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. Daboia is a monotypic genus of venomous Old World vipers. The single member species, D. russelii, is found in Asia throughout the Indian subcontinent, much of Southeast Asia, southern China and Taiwan. The species was named in honor of Patrick Russell (1726–1805), a Scottish herpetologist who first described many of India's snakes, and the name of the genus is from the Hindi word meaning "that lies hid", or "the lurker". Apart from being a member of the big four snakes in India, Daboia is also one of the genera responsible for causing the most snakebite incidents and deaths among all venomous snakes on account of many factors, such as their wide distribution, generally aggressive demeanor, and frequent occurrence in highly populated areas.

Daboia russelli is commonly known as Russell's viper and chain viper, among other names.

D. russelii can grow to a maximum total length (body + tail) of 166 cm (5.5 ft) and averages about 120 cm (4 ft) on mainland Asian populations, although island populations may be slightly smaller on average. It is more slenderly built than most other vipers.Ditmars (1937) reported the following dimensions for a "fair-sized adult specimen":

The head is flattened, triangular, and distinct from the neck. The snout is blunt, rounded, and raised. The nostrils are large, each in the middle of a large, single nasal scale. The lower edge of the nasal touches the nasorostral. The supranasal has a strong crescent shape and separates the nasal from the nasorostral anteriorly. The rostral is as broad as it is high.

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