The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers, or pit adders, are a subfamily of vipers found in Asia and the Americas. Like all other vipers, they are venomous. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on both sides of the head. Currently, 23 genera and 155 species are recognized: These are also the only viperids found in the Americas. The groups of snakes represented here include rattlesnakes, lanceheads, and Asian pit vipers. The type genus for this subfamily is Crotalus, of which the type species is the timber rattlesnake, C. horridus.
Agkistrodon is a genus of pit vipers commonly known as American moccasins. The genus is endemic to North America, ranging from the Southern United States to northern Costa Rica. Eight species are currently recognized, all of them monotypic and closely related. Common names include: cottonmouths, copperheads, and cantils.
Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of their venom. Three subfamilies are currently recognized. They are also known as viperids. The name "viper" is derived from the Latin word vipera, -ae, also meaning viper, possibly from vivus ("living") and parere, referring to the trait viviparity common in vipers like most of the species of Boidae.
Gloydius is a genus of pit vipers endemic to Asia, also known as Asian moccasins or Asian ground pit vipers. Named after American herpetologist Howard K. Gloyd, this genus is very similar to the North American genus Agkistrodon. 24 species are currently recognized.
Trimeresurus is a genus of pit vipers found in Asia from the Indian Subcontinent throughout Southeast Asia, China, and the Pacific Islands. Currently 44 species are recognized. Common names include Asian palm pit vipers, Asian lanceheads, and green pit vipers.
Trimeresurus albolabris, the white-lipped pit viper or white-lipped tree viper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Southeast Asia.
Protobothrops mangshanensis, commonly known as the Mangshan pit viper, Mt. Mang pit viper, or Mang Mountain pit viper, is a pit viper species endemic to Hunan and Guangdong provinces in China. No subspecies are currently recognized. This is a nocturnal pit viper that is also known as the ''Mangshan iron-head snake'', ''Chinese pit viper'', and the ''Ironhead viper''. They eat frogs, birds, insects, and small mammals. They have a white tail tip that they wiggle to mimic a grub so that prey comes into striking range—a behaviour known as caudal luring. The venom causes blood clotting and corrodes muscle tissue and can be fatal to humans if not treated. Unusually for vipers, P. mangshanensis is oviparous with the female laying clutches of 13–21 eggs which she will guard until they hatch.
Tropidolaemus wagleri, more commonly known as Wagler's pit viper, is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. It is sometimes referred to as the temple viper because of its abundance around the Temple of the Azure Cloud in Malaysia.
Gomphotherium is an extinct genus of gomphothere proboscidean from the Neogene of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the most diverse genus of gompothere, with over a dozen valid species. The genus is probably paraphyletic.
Gloydius halys is a pit viper species found within a wide range that stretches across Asia, from Russia, east of the Urals, eastwards through China. Four subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominotypical form described here.
The ability to sense infrared thermal radiation evolved independently in three different groups of snakes, consisting of the families of Boidae (boas), Pythonidae (pythons), and the subfamily Crotalinae. What is commonly called a pit organ allows these animals to essentially "see" radiant heat at wavelengths between 5 and 30 μm. The more advanced infrared sense of pit vipers allows these animals to strike prey accurately even in the absence of light, and detect warm objects from several meters away. It was previously thought that the organs evolved primarily as prey detectors, but recent evidence suggests that it may also be used in thermoregulation and predator detection, making it a more general-purpose sensory organ than was supposed.
Gloydius intermedius, or Central Asian pit viper, is a venomous species of pitviper endemic to northern Asia. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Gloydius tsushimaensis, or the Tsushima Island pitviper, is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Tsushima Island in Japan.
Gloydius lateralis is a species of venomous pit viper found in the Zharu Valley of Jiuzhaigou County, China. The species is active during sunny days in hot and dry areas along roadsides. The Zharu Valley is the sole known location of G. lateralis. This snake is assumed to eat small mammals like mice, based on the fur remnants found within its droppings. This species lineage is a sister taxon to G. swild, being morphologically and phylogenetically similar.
Ovophis jenkinsi, commonly known as the Jenkins' mountain pit viper, is a pit viper species found in Yunnan, China.
Gloydius caucasicus, the Caucasian pit viper, is a species of venomous snake in the genus Gloydius found in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Gloydius caraganus, or the Karaganda pitviper, is a species of Asian moccasin from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The name caraganus comes from the area in which it was first discovered. As all pit vipers, it is venomous. Previously considered a subspecies of G. halys, it has recently been elevated to full species.
Gloydius cognatus, or the Alashan pitviper, is a species of Asian moccasin from North West China and Mongolia. As with all pit vipers it is venomous, and it is considered the most toxic species of Gloydius in China.
Gloydius halys boehmei, or the Böhme's pitviper, is a subspecies of Halys pitviper from Eastern Afghanistan. As with all pit vipers, it is venomous.
