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.
The colour pattern consists of a yellowish, pale grey, pinkish, reddish or pale brown ground colour, which almost always matches the substrate colour where the animal is found. Dorsally, a series of dark, semi-rectangular blotches runs the length of the body. These blotches may or may not be fused into crossbars. The belly is white. The tail, which may have a black tip, is usually thin.
Common names
Common names of the species Cerastes cerastes include desert sidewinding horned viper, Saharan horned viper, African desert horned viper, greater cerastes, asp and horned viper. In Egypt, it is called el-ṭorîsha (); in Libya, it is called um-Goron ().
Geographic distribution
Cerastes cerastes is common in Iraq but is also found in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Yemen, Jordan, Israel, Qatar, Mauritania, Morocco and Kuwait. They can also be found in parts of North Africa including Libya, Egypt, and Sudan.
Originally, the type locality was listed only as "Oriente." However, Flower (1933) proposed "Egypt" by way of clarification. It is also known to eat jerboas, yellow wagtails, and chiffchaffs.
thumb|none|sidewinder tracks in the sand
Reproduction
<!-- Deleted image removed: left|thumb|C. cerastes, female with eggs. -->In captivity, mating of Cerastes cerastes was observed in April and always occurred while the animals were buried in the sand.