Due to the strong morphological similarity, these snakes were classified in the Agkistrodon genus until very recently, but as of 1999, cladistic studies clearly show that these snakes do not share a common ancestor with Agkistrodon (technically, are not monophyletic or even paraphyletic), and thus must be assigned to a separate genus.
The name Pit Viper comes from the pit like depressions behind the nostrils that function as heat sensors, making it possible for the snakes to locate warm-blooded prey, even in darkness.
Pit vipers are represented by a single species in Pakistan, belonging to genusGloydius:
Gloydius himalayanus (O) Map Credit: Dr. Muhammad Sharif Khan
This is what happened to the snakes of the Gloydius species, a sort of rattlesnake without a rattle that lived in great numbers in this region.
These Gloydiussnakes hunted land-dwelling prey such as rodents and rabbits, but they soon exterminated their prey, trapped as they were within such a restricted perimeter.
So to avoid dying of hunger they were obliged to change their hunting techniques, and it is assumed that, at that time, the snake population was decimated by famine.
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