Similarities and Difference Between Viper and Pit Viper

Viper and Pit Viper both belong to same family of Viperidae but separate subfamily of Viperinae and Crotalinae. Here is the list of Viper and Pit Viper snakes found in India.

Viper

Russell’s Viper and Saw Scaled Viper are only two known species of viper snakes found in India. These two snakes are highly dangerous to human and part of big 4 deadliest species of Indian snakes along with Indian Cobra and Common Krait.

• Russell’s Viper
• Saw Scaled Viper

Pit Viper

Pit Vipers have two heat pits one on either side of the head and they belong to a separate subfamily of Crotalinae. There are 20 known species of Pit Viper snakes found in India, some of them are:

• Malabar Pit Viper
• Himalayan Pit Viper
• Hump Nosed Pit Viper
• Mangrove Pit Viper
• Bamboo Pit Viper

The Crotalinae family pit vipers are mostly found in dense forest of Easter and Western ghats of India. They are arboreal and nocturnal, live in wide variety of habitats from mountain ranges to rain forest.