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was watching jeff corwin a few days ago and while in brazil he caught a mock viper. it mimicks a viper down to the enlarged head when the venome glands would be, but there are no glands (it bit him and he didnt have any negative effects)

can anyone tell me the genus species name of this animal?

and if none know of this animal what are some other viper mimicks out there

thank you so much

ashley
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"I’m scared of those nasty big-eyed grey aliens, too. I think it’s that I don’t understand their motivations. I am confident of my ability to out-think, out-con, or if need be, tire-iron-upside-the-head demonic forces, ghosts and goblins, things that go bump in the night, etc. It’s the notion of something that doesn’t have any desire to talk to me except via anal probe that freaks me out"

I didn't see the show, but if he was in Brazil, I'm guessing the snake might have been Xenodon....They are pretty impressive "mimics" to a lay person. I also believe that they ARE rear-fanged, but (correct me if I'm wrong) I don't believe that their venom is of medical significance to humans, as their primary prey is amphibians.

Another interesting "mimic" might be the "viper boa" of the genus Candoia....Interesting, chunky little snakes that do bear a passing resemblence to a fat viper.

Gopher snakes and bull snakes can be considered "mimics" in the sense that when confronted in the field, many certainly try to make you think they are rattlesnakes. Puffing up, shaking the tail, hissing loudly can be pretty intimidating...even from a snake that is completely harmless (if he's big enough).

I'm sure there are others, but that's all the "mimics" that come to mind at this late (or early) hour....

-AzAtrox

An excellent mimic here in the U.S. is Heterodon. They'd be more believable if we had venomous snakes that spread hoods, but they still, even without going into the defense mode look venomous.

~~Greg~~

>>was watching jeff corwin a few days ago and while in brazil he caught a mock viper. it mimicks a viper down to the enlarged head when the venome glands would be, but there are no glands (it bit him and he didnt have any negative effects)

There are quite a few potential viper mimics in Brazil, and quite a few of them triangulate their heads to make themselves more viper-like. The most convincing are the genera Xenodon and Waglerophis, which have got Bothrops patterns almost perfectly right. Others include genera such as Tomodon, Tropidodryas, Thamnodynastes and quite a few others.

Candoia (viper boas) are from New Guinea and neighbouring Pacific islands, not South America.

Cheers,

WW
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WW Home

thank you all for you r replies.

i did fail to mention one other feature of that Mock viper

it has false heat pits.

i looked at a few picture of the genus every one putout for me (for which i am gratefull) but i didnt see the false pits, so could i be looking at the wrong species or is it a genus that is different entirely fropm the one mentioned?

thanks for putting up ith my questions ^_^

ashley
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"I’m scared of those nasty big-eyed grey aliens, too. I think it’s that I don’t understand their motivations. I am confident of my ability to out-think, out-con, or if need be, tire-iron-upside-the-head demonic forces, ghosts and goblins, things that go bump in the night, etc. It’s the notion of something that doesn’t have any desire to talk to me except via anal probe that freaks me out"