Siamese Russell's viper
The Eastern Russell's viper (Daboia siamensis) is a venomous viper species native to parts of Southeast Asia and East Asia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) (as Daboia russelli siamensis ), but was elevated to species status in 2007.
Dorsally, the color pattern of this species is grayish or olive, with small spots between the large spot rows. The venter is suffused with gray posteriorly.
Eastern Russell's vipers occur in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, China(Guangxi Guangdong), parts of India, Taiwan, and Indonesia (Endeh, Flores, east Java, Komodo, Lomblen Islands). These snakes prefer to live in open areas such as grasslands, shrublands, plains, and coastal lowlands and hills. They may also be found in forested plantations and farmland and visit urban areas and villages.
Eastern Russell's vipers are slow snakes that live on the ground. They are usually active at night but in cool weather can be encountered during the day. When feeling threatened or provoked Eastern Russell's vipers can be very aggressive.
These are carnivorous snakes that prey on various rodents, scorpions, squirrels, and domestic cats.
Female Eastern Russell's vipers are ovoviviparous meaning they give birth to live young. They usually breed early in the year, however gravid (pregnant) females may be found at any time throughout the year. The gestation period lasts more than 6 months and litters typically consist of 20 to 40 young.
Eastern Russell's vipers are heavily persecuted by humans and collected for local and international trade.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Eastern Russell's viper total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, but its numbers today are decreasing.
