Seoane's viper is only to be found in the north of the Iberian
Peninsula, (Spain and Portugal), and in the extreme southwest of
France near the border with Spain.
It is the only viper present in its Iberian distribution with
the exception of the South west of France where it can overlap
with the Asp viper.
They can be found up to an altitude of 1200m in Portugal and up
to 1900m in the mountains of the Cantabrian coast. In France
they reach a maximum altitude of 1250m in the Pyrenees.
In France, the Seoane's Viper is confined to the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques department where they are present along the
border with Spain from the coast, (south of Saint-Jean-de-Luz),
(where they have become very rare), to the Iraty massif where
they reach their eastern limit.
Seoane's Viper is a snake whose length generally varies between
40 and 50 cm, (65 cm maximum), with females being larger than
males. As is the case with all European vipers they have eyes
with vertically slit pupils, a relatively triangular head, (but
less wide than the other vipers of France), and a tail which
tapers quite quickly. They also have thicker scales above the
eyes giving the impression of eyebrows. The scales are quite
strongly keeled and even ribbed, rather oval in shape and rather
large in size, giving a rough appearance to the skin.
It is a species with an extraordinarily high variability in its
colours and patterns which is only an identification issue in
France where Asp vipers are present however unlike the Asp viper
the tip of the snout is not turned up and the labials are
clearly marked.
Diet is about 80% small rodents and the remainder is mainly
lizards and small birds. Juvenile snakes eat mainly lizards.
In normal or slightly favourable climatic conditions adult
females will reproduce every year. When the climatic conditions
during the year are colder than usual and the activity period
becomes shorter, the females will reproduce every second year.
The young, (between 3 and 10), are born between the end of
August and the beginning of September. They shed their skin in
the first few days following birth and commence feeding.
Hibernation tends to take place between November and March.
A bite from a Seoane's Viper is normally not life threatening
for a human being, except for a small likelihood in the cases of
elderly people, children or unhealthy persons. However, a bite
should always be monitored by a doctor and treated in a hospital.
The French snakes have the lowest toxicity for this species.