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Species of reptile

Cerastes cerastes, commonly known as the Saharan horned viper or the desert horned viper, is a venomous species of viper native to the deserts of Northern Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula and Levant. It is often easily recognized by the presence of a pair of supraocular "horns", although hornless individuals do occur. The colour pattern consists of a yellowish, pale grey, pinkish, reddish or pale brown ground colour, which almost always matches the substrate colour where the animal is found. Dorsally, a series of dark, semi rectangular blotches runs the length of the body. These blotches may or may not be fused into crossbars. The belly is white. The tail, which may have a black tip, is usually thin.

Common names of this species include desert sidewinding horned viper, Saharan horned viper, African desert horned viper, greater cerastes, asp and horned viper. In Egypt, it is called el ṭorîsha (حية الطريشة); in Libya, it is called um Goron (ام قرون).

The snake is common in Iraq but is also found in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Israel and Kuwait. They can also be found in parts of North Africa including Libya, Egypt, Qatar and Sudan. A member of this species was reportedly found and killed by locals on the border between the Peshawar and Nowshera districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The incident was reported along with a photo of the dead reptile in 'Aaj', and Urdu language newspaper published in the provincial capital Peshawar on September 10, 2019. Originally, the type locality was listed only as "Oriente." However, Flower (1933) proposed "Egypt" by way of clarification. These vipers are also known to eat jerboas, yellow wagtails, and chiffchaffs. C. cerastes has been known to travel long distances at night in search of prey. When approached, they strike very rapidly, holding on to the captured prey until the venom takes effect.

In captivity, mating was observed in April and always occurred while the animals were buried in the sand. This species is oviparous, laying 8–23 eggs that hatch after 50 to 80 days of incubation. The eggs are laid under rocks and in abandoned rodent burrows. The hatchlings measure 12–15 cm (about 5–6 inches) in total length.

Cerastes cerastes venom is reported to be similar in action to Echis venom. Envenomation usually causes swelling, haemorrhage, necrosis, nausea, vomiting, and haematuria. A high phospholipase A2 content may cause cardiotoxicity and myotoxicity. Studies of venom from both C. cerastes and C. vipera list a total of eight venom fractions, the most powerful of which has haemorrhagic activity. Venom yields vary, with ranges of 19–27 mg to 100 mg of dried venom being reported. For venom toxicity, Brown (1973) gives values of 0.4 mg/kg IV and 3.0 mg/kg SC. An estimated lethal dose for humans is 40–50 mg.