Desert Horned Viper
Scientific name: Cerastes cerastes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overview
Cerastes cerastes, commonly known as the Saharan horned viper or the desert horned viper, is a 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. Three subspecies have been described.
From the Wikipedia article “Cerastes cerastes”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Israel, Jordan, Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Western Sahara, Chad.
Common names
Also known in English as horned desert viper, Saharan horned viper.
Names in other languages (8)
- Arabic
- قرناء صحراوية
- Chinese
- 角蝰
- French
- Vipère à cornes
- German
- Hornviper, Wüsten-Hornviper
- Hindi
- सेरास्टीस सेरास्टीस
- Japanese
- サハラツノクサリヘビ
- Persian
- افعی شاخدار بیابانی
- Russian
- Рогатая гадюка
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Reptile Database.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q1476343, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Cerastes cerastes”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Holger Krisp, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026