cerastes

cerastes
/seuh ras"teez/, n., pl. cerastes.
any of several small vipers of the genus Cerastes, including the horned viper, that have a sideways looping motion like that of a sidewinder and inhabit deserts of northern Africa and southwestern Asia.
[1768; < NL < Gk kerástes lit., something horned, equiv. to kerat- s. of kéras horn + -tes n. suffix; earlier in sense "asp," ME < ML, L, as above]

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snake
      genus of venomous, desert-dwelling snakes of the viper family, Viperidae. There are two species, the horned viper (C. cerastes), which usually has a spinelike scale above each eye, and the common, or Sahara, sand viper (C. vipera), which lacks these scales. Both species are small (seldom more than 60 cm [about 2 feet] long), stocky, and broad-headed and are found in northern Africa and the Middle East.

      These vipers are pale, sand-coloured snakes marked with dark spots or crosswise bars. They habitually bury themselves in the sand to protect themselves from the Sun and heat and also to lie in ambush for their prey of lizards and small mammals. Like certain other desert snakes, they travel by sidewinding—i.e., by moving obliquely across the sand. Their venom is relatively weak and is seldom fatal to humans.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cerastes — Cerastes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cerastes — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda ? Cerastes Clasificación científica …   Wikipedia Español

  • cerastes — (Del lat. cerastes). m. cerasta …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • cerastes — [sə ras′tēz΄] n. [ModL < L < Gr kerastēs, horned (serpent) < keras, HORN] any of a genus (Cerastes) of poisonous African snakes, esp. a viper ( C. cornutus) with a hornlike spine above each eye; horned viper …   English World dictionary

  • Cerastes — Ce*ras tes, n. [L., a horned serpent, fr. Gr. kera sths horned, fr. ke ras horn.] (Zo[ o]l.) A genus of poisonous African serpents, with a horny scale over each eye; the horned viper. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cerastes — Cerastes, 1) so v.w. Hornotter; 2) bei Poli das Thier in den Herzmuscheln …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Cerastes — Cerastes, die Hornviper, s. Ottern …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cerastes — Cerastes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cerastes — Afrikanische Hornvipern Wüsten Hornviper (Cerastes cerastes) Systematik Klasse: Reptilien (Reptilia) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cerastes — This article is about the legendary creature. For the genus of snakes, see Cerastes (genus). The cerastes (Greek: κεράστης, English: cerastēs, English translation: having horns [1]) is a creature of Greek legend, a serpent that is incredibly… …   Wikipedia

  • cerastes — ceraste o cerastes (del lat. «cerastes») m. Cerasta. * * * cerastes. (Del lat. cerastes). m. cerasta …   Enciclopedia Universal

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