Characteristics of the Pit Viper

Heat Sensors

• The most distinctive characteristic of pit vipers as a group is the pit located between their eyes and nostrils. Pit vipers are called such because of these distinctive pits. The pits on a pit viper are thermoreceptors, which are designed to detect heat and sense differences in temperature. This provides a pit viper with information about its environment and helps it locate prey during hunting. These pits also provide information about prey, such as whether or not it is warm-blooded.

Venom

• All pit vipers are venomous, which means they use venom to hunt and defend themselves. The potency of pit viper venom varies from species to species. Pit viper venom may contain a number of different toxins and enzymes that disrupt blood vessels in their victims. Some venoms are fairly weak while venoms from some species are deadly.

Fangs

• Pit vipers have two long, hollow fangs that are used to inject venom when the snake bites. These fangs are erect when the pit viper opens its mouth to bite, but they lay flat against the roof of the mouth when the snake's mouth is closed. Pit vipers are able to control their venom and a bite from a pit viper may cause only damage from the snake's fangs with no venom in the wound of the bite.

Body

• Pit vipers have a few general physical characteristics that are similar among the species. Pit vipers typically have distinctive, triangular-shaped heads that are wider than their necks. They often have robust or heavy bodies relative to their length. They have no limbs or vestigial limbs, as some snakes have, and some have no left lung or have a vestigial left lung. Many pit vipers have vertically slit pupils, like a cat.