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These two snakes that I have portrayed for Las Fotos de los Lectores of La Vanguardia in Torelló, in Osona, already feel spring and we see them outdoors. Are they snakes? Snakes?… Better not to be mistaken.
And the viper is one of the most dangerous animals in the fauna that we find in Catalonia. The popular sayings tell us, either in Spanish (“if you are bitten by a morgaño, in the leg a year”) or in Catalan (“to a viper’s bite, there is no time for extremity”).
They are famous for their poison, probably the most powerful among the animals present in Europe. To give us an idea, during the Punic wars, vipers were thrown at enemy ships during naval battles.
How to distinguish a viper? Basically, because of its triangular head covered in small scales. They also have a pair of large, oval scales located above each eye, as well as a vertical pupil.
Instead, snakes have large scales on the head and a circular pupil. Vipers are stocky, short-tailed snakes that do not exceed 60 or 70 cm in total length.
The viper possesses a pair of long, hollow fangs at the front of the upper jaw. Given the length of their fangs, they usually attack by projecting them forward and stabbing their victims with a blow, unlike other snakes (which attack by biting).
