Ashy Pit Viper

About the Ashy Pit Viper

Craspedocephalus puniceus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Southeast Asia. Common names include: flat-nosed pitviper, flat-nosed pit viper, and ashy pit viper. No subspecies are recognized as being valid. Adults of Craspedocephalus puniceus may attain a total length of 64 cm (25 in), which includes a prehensile tail 9 cm (3.5 in) long.

Dorsally, C. puniceus is gray, brown, or red, with dark blotches or crossbars, which may merge to form an undulating stripe. On each side of the head, behind the eye, is a light streak. Ventrally, it is powdered with dark brown, and usually has lateral series of yellowish spots. The body length depends on the gender. The adult male body ranges from 60–70 cm (24–28 in) and the adult female body 100–130 cm (39–51 in) in length.

Scalation includes 21–23 rows of dorsal scales at midbody, 158–173 ventral scales, 41–56 subcaudal scales, and 10–13 supralabial scales. The dorsal scales are weekly keeled, and the anal plate is entire. Craspedocephalus puniceus can be found on Java and southern Sumatra. Envenomation is still a relatively major issue in certain parts of the world. One major area affected by envenomation is... Wikipedia →