Adder
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- This page refers to the type of snake. For an electronic adder, see Adder (electronics); for the Russian air-to-air missile that goes by the NATO reporting name "AA-12 Adder," see Vympel R-77.
Adder is another name for viper. Most snakes called adders belong to the family Viperidae, more precisely to subfamily viperinae (by contrast to pit vipers). However, these are a few exceptions: the death adder is not a viperid at all despite its name, but rather a member of the cobra family, the Elapidae. Also, the name puff adder may also refer to a harmless hognose snake.
"Adders"
| Common name | Scientific name | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|
| European adder | Vipera berus | Europe and Asia |
| Death adder | Acanthophis antarcticus | Australia, New Guinea |
| Dwarf adder | Bitis peringueyi | Namibia, Angola |
| Horned adder | Bitis caudalis | South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia |
| Many-horned adder | Bitis cornuta | Namibia, South Africa |
| Namaqua dwarf adder | Bitis schneideri | South-West South Africa |
| Mountain adder | Bitis atropos | Zimbabwe, South Africa |
| Puff adder | Bitis arietans | Africa, Yemen |
| Puff adder | Heterodon sp | United States |
| Night adders | Causus sp. | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Etymology
The word was nædre in Old English, which developed into nadder or naddre; in the 14th century a nadder was, like a napron, reinterpreted as an adder. It appears with the generic meaning of serpent in the older forms of many Germanic languages, including Old High German natra and Gothic nadrs. It is thus used in the Old English version of the Christian Scriptures for the devil, the serpent of Genesis. The Old English word nædre is assumed to derive in turn from the Old Norse word eitr, synonymous with snake poison.
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition{{#if:{{{article|}}}| article {{#if:{{{url|}}}|[{{{url|}}}}} "{{{article}}}"{{#if:{{{url|}}}|]}}{{#if:{{{author|}}}| by {{{author}}}}}}}, a publication now in the public domain.