The earliest known fossil pit viper remains are from the Early Miocene of Nebraska. As pit vipers are thought to have had an Asian origin before … See more

The subfamily Crotalinae is found from Central Asia eastward and southward to Japan, China, Indonesia, peninsular India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In the Americas, they range from … See more

Although a few species of crotalines are highly active by day, such as Trimeresurus trigonocephalus, a bright green pit viper endemic to Sri Lanka, most are nocturnal, preferring to avoid high daytime temperatures and to hunt when their favored prey are … See more

• List of crotaline species and subspecies See more

Crotalines are a versatile subfamily, with members found in habitats ranging from parched desert (e.g., the sidewinder, Crotalus cerastes) to rainforests (e.g., the bushmaster, … See more

With few exceptions, crotalines are ovoviviparous, meaning that the embryos develop within eggs that remain inside the mother's body until … See more

In the past, the pit vipers were usually classed as a separate family: the Crotalidae. Today, however, the monophyly of the viperines and the crotalines as a whole is undisputed, which is why they are treated here as a subfamily of the See more