The Crossed Viper, also known as the Common Viper and the European Adder (Vipera berus) lives farther north than any other snake and is known for being remarkably resistant to low temperatures. It is also the most widespread species of snake in the world and is found from the British Isles in the west, to the Chinese coast and Sakhalin in the east, and well within the Arctic Circle in the north. Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Crossed Viper ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders  Crocodylia - Crocodilians  Rhynchocephalia - Tuataras  Squamata   Suborder Sauria - Lizards   Suborder Serpentes - Snakes Testudines - Turtles Superorder Dinosauria  Saurischia  Ornithischia The reptiles are a group of vertebrate animals. ... Suborders Amphisbaenia - Worm lizards Sauria- Lizards Serpentes - Snakes Squamata (scaled reptiles) is the largest recent order of reptiles. ... Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenopeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae Snakes are cold blooded legless reptiles closely related to lizards, which share the order Squamata. ... Subfamilies Crotalinae (Pit Vipers) Viperinae (Vipers) The Viperidae family is made up of two subfamilies: Crotalinae (Pit Vipers) Viperinae (Vipers) Categories: Stub | Snakes ... Genera Adenorhinos Atheris Azemiops Bitis Cerastes Daboia Echis Eristicophis Macrovipera Montatheris Proatheris Pseudocerastes Vipera This page is about Viper snakes. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenopeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae Snakes are cold blooded legless reptiles closely related to lizards, which share the order Squamata. ... The British Isles consist of Great Britain, Ireland and a number of much smaller surrounding islands. ... Sakhalin (Russian: ), also Saghalien, Kuye (Chinese: 庫頁島; pinyin: ), or Karafuto (Japanese: ) is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50 and 54° 24 N, in Far East, Russia. ...

The snake itself is quite small, adult females rarely grow beyond 70 centimeters and males rarely over 60, although most Crossed Vipers encountered are much smaller. The Crossed Viper can reach 20-25 years of age.

Their food consists mainly of rodents, amphibians and lizards, although birds and their eggs are sometimes consumed. The name of the viper comes from the black crossed pattern on its back. Vipera berus has only 3 subspecies: Vipera berus berus, V. b. bosniensis and V. b. sachalinensis. bosniensis is only found in the Balkans and sachalinensis only on Sakhalin island. The snake is very adaptive and can be found in nearly any type of terrain and in mountains up to 3000 meters above sea level. Families Many, see text The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ... This page is about Lizards, the order of reptile. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ...

The Crossed Viper is venomous and the lethality of its venom is equal to that of rattlesnakes', but because it injects much smaller amounts of the venom, the animal is considered less dangerous. A bite from a crossed viper is only rarely lethal and even then it is usually due to an anaphylactic reaction. In fact, bees are considered more dangerous to humans and only small children, allergic adults and seniors in poor health are at risk. Nevertheless, if bitten by a crossed viper, one should immediately but calmly seek medical assistance. Wasp stinger, with droplet of venom Venom is a general term for the poisons used by several groups of animal species, for the purpose of defense and hunting prey. ... Anaphylaxis is a severe and rapid systemic allergic reaction to a trigger substance, called an allergen. ... Families Andrenidae Anthophoridae Apidae Colletidae Ctenoplectridae Halictidae Heterogynaidae Megachilidae Melittidae Oxaeidae Sphecidae Stenotritidae bee or bees, see bee (disambiguation). ...

The adult female crossed viper is often rusty brown, with the black pattern on its back and grows much larger than the males, which usually are grey instead of brown. Young individuals are sometimes dark brown and their correct coloring emerges only after a few years. Apart from their gender-specific coloring, there are also individuals that are very dark or almost black. This is caused by a pigment error, melanism, that is apparently not inherited by their young. Black vipers usually give birth to normal colored youngs, and normal colored vipers may give birth to black vipers. While their camouflage is not as good as the normal colored snakes, the black crossed vipers have an advantage by being able to raise their body temperature more rapidly, which is especially useful after hibernation or in cold climates. Melanism appears to be more common in the northern regions than elsewhere throughout its range. Melanism is an increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation (as of skin, feathers, or hair) of an individual or kind of organism. ... This article refers to the process of hibernation in biology. ...

Their mating season is in May and the females give birth in August or September, depending on the climate. The crossed viper usually gives birth to 5-20 live young, depending on the size of the female. The snake is exceptional since it is known to both give birth and lay eggs, which usually hatch within minutes of being laid. When they are born, they are between 15-20 centimeters long and already venomous.

A common belief is that young and especially newborn vipers are more venomous than adult snakes, but this is untrue. Another belief is that they are so aggressive after they are born, that the female has to give birth hanging from a bush to avoid being bitten by its own offspring. This is also untrue, although vipers are known to give birth hanging in bushes, possibly since it aids them in pushing out the babies. After being born, the snakes usually shed their skins. Before they go into their first hibernation in October or November, the young snakes do not always feed, since they need to fully digest the meal before entering the hibernation state, to avoid complications resulting from the changes in its metabolism. Santorio Santorio (1561-1636) in his steelyard balance, from Ars de statica medecina, first published 1614 Metabolism (from μεταβολισμος(metavallo), the Greek word for change), in the most general sense, is the ingestion and breakdown of complex compounds, coupled with the liberation of energy, and the consequent generation of waste...

The Crossed Viper is not an aggressive species and when approached by a human, it tends to rely on its camouflage for as long as possible, before trying to escape. Only when it is surprised or provoked will it try to bite. This is possibly due to the high amount of energy it needs to produce its venom and, because it lives mostly in a temperate climate, its need to conserve energy.

Its reliance on camouflage has caused it to become an easy victim for humans, and it is now a protected species in most of Europe.

See following publication on Vipera berus research :

Do aposematism and Batesian mimicry require bright colours? A test, using European viper markings

Authors: Wüster W, Allum CSE, Bjargardottir IB, Bailey KL, Dawson KJ, Guenioui J, Lewis J, McGurk J, Moore AG, Niskanen M, Pollard CP. Year: 2004

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-biological Sciences Volume: 271 Pages: 2495-2499

Publisher: Royal Soc London

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Crossed Viper