Russell's viper

Daboia is a monotypic genus of venomous Old World viper. The single species, D. russelii, is found in Asia throughout the Indian subcontinent, much of Southeast Asia, southern China and Taiwan and Pakistan. 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 species 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 are commonly known as Russell's viper and chain viper, among other names.

Description

This snake 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 do not attain this size. It is more slenderly built than most other vipers.Ditmars (1937) reported the following dimensions for a "fair sized adult specimen":