Azemiops

Azemiops is a tiny genus in the viper family, Viperidae. It holds just one or two recognized species, most famously Fea's Viper (Azemiops feae), a slender, glossy snake with a flattened head and a bold pattern of orange or cream crossbars over a bluish-black or slate body. Its coloration and smooth, almost smooth-scaled look set it apart from the heavy-bodied, rough-scaled vipers most people picture. Because of those primitive features, herpetologists have long placed it in its own subfamily, Azemiopinae, treating it as one of the most ancient living lineages of true vipers. It is restricted to the mountains of southern China, northern Vietnam, Myanmar, and nearby uplands.

These are snakes of cool, damp montane forest. They live at moderate to high elevations and favor humid ground cover, leaf litter, and the edges of streams and rocky slopes. They are not desert or lowland animals, which is one reason they are rarely encountered. Fea's Viper is largely nocturnal and crepuscular, sheltering by day and moving in the cooler, wetter hours. Diet, as in many small forest vipers, centers on small mammals such as shrews and rodents, taken with the heat-sensing pits and quick strike that define the pit viper and broader viper lineage. Like many vipers it gives live birth to small litters rather than laying eggs.

Azemiops is venomous, as all members of Viperidae are, and it should be treated with the same caution as any wild viper. Bites to humans are very rare because the snakes are uncommon, shy, and live in remote terrain, but a defensive bite is still a medical situation, not a harmless event. Never handle a wild venomous snake, and do not assume a calm or oddly beautiful snake is safe to pick up. If a bite occurs, keep the person calm and still, do not cut, suck, or apply a tourniquet, and seek emergency medical care immediately. In the United States contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or call local emergency services; in its native range, reach the nearest hospital or local emergency number as fast as possible.