NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Russell’s Viper
Daboia russelii (Shaw & Nodder, 1797)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Daboia russelii Russel's Viper in the CME Dapodi campus. Photographed by Abhinav Chawla (self).
AChawla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) is a species of highly venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is native to South Asia. It was described in 1797 by George Shaw and Frederick Polydore Nodder. It is named after Patrick Russell. Known for its extremely painful bite, it is considered one of the "Big Four" venomous snake species in the region.
Wikipedia contributors, Russell's viper; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:50:30.712320+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Daboia russelii (Shaw & Nodder, 1797)
- Name authority
- (Shaw & Nodder, 1797)
- Common name
- Russell’s Viper
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Viperidae
- Genus
- Daboia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyViperidae
- subfamilyViperinae
- genusDaboia
- speciesDaboia russelii (Shaw & Nodder, 1797)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Daboia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Palestine ViperDaboia palaestinae (Werner, 1938) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Moorish ViperDaboia mauritanica (Gray, 1849) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern Russel’s ViperDaboia siamensis (Smith, 1917) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Vipera elegans Daudin, 1803 Daudin, 1803 | synonym |
| Daboia pulchella Gray, 1842 Gray, 1842 | synonym |
| Vipera russellii Strauch, 1869 Strauch, 1869 | synonym |
| Daboia russellii Gray, 1849 Gray, 1849 | synonym |
| Vipera russelli nordicus Deraniyagala, 1945 Deraniyagala, 1945 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Daboia&species=russelii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:33SV5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.