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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Egyptian Saw-scaled Viper

Echis pyramidum (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)

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.

Egyptian saw-scaled viper (Echis pyramidum)

Egyptian saw-scaled viper (Echis pyramidum)

TimVickers · Public domain · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

Echis pyramidum, known as the Northeast African carpet viper, Egyptian saw-scaled viper, and by other common names, is a species of viper endemic to Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Like all other vipers, it is venomous. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.

This species, along with the closely related Echis ocellatus (both of the Carpet viper species) cause the most cases of snakebite deaths in the world. Two antivenoms are available to counteract snakebites from this species: Polyvalent Anti-viper Venom by VACSERA in Egypt and SAIMR Echis antivenom by South African Vaccine Producers.

Wikipedia contributors, Echis pyramidum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:21:14.837781+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Echis pyramidum (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)
Name authority
(Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)
Common name
Egyptian Saw-scaled Viper
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Viperidae
Genus
Echis
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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
  11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
  12. familyViperidae
  13. subfamilyViperinae
  14. genusEchis
  15. speciesEchis pyramidum (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Echis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Echis borkini Cherlin, 1990ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
PhoorsaEchis carinatus (Schneider, 1801)ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Burton’s carpet viperEchis coloratus Günther, 1878ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Echis khosatzkii Cherlin, 1990ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
African Saw-scaled ViperEchis ocellatus Stemmler, 1970ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Roman's Saw-scaled ViperEchis leucogaster Roman, 1972ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Echis romani Trape, 2018ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Hughes' Saw-scaled ViperEchis hughesi Cherlin, 1990ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Joger's Saw-scaled ViperEchis jogeri Cherlin, 1990ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Cherlin's Saw-scaled ViperEchis megalocephalus Cherlin, 1990ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Oman saw-scaled viperEchis omanensis Babocsay, 2004ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 244 records assigned to Viperidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Echis carinatus leakeyi Stemmler & Sochurek, 1969 Stemmler & Sochurek, 1969synonym
Echis arenicola Boie, 1827 Boie, 1827synonym
Echis (Toxicoa) pyramidum lucidus Cherlin, 1990 Cherlin, 1990synonym
Echis pavo Reuss, 1834 Reuss, 1834synonym
Echis varia Reuss, 1834 Reuss, 1834synonym
Echis carinatus aliaborri Drewes & Sacherer, 1974 Drewes & Sacherer, 1974synonym
Scythale pyramidum Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827 Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827synonym
Echis varius darevskii Cherlin, 1990 Cherlin, 1990synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Kenya, Somalia, S Ethiopia, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Djibouti, Eritrea, Uganda, Sudan (Jumhūriyyat), Republic of South Sudan (RSS), Central African Republic,

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.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Echis&species=pyramidum 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:38LR3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.