The Russell's viper is a monotypic genus of venomous Old World viper. The single species, D. russelii, is found in Asia throughout the Indian subcontinent, much of Southeast Asia, southern China and Taiwan. The species was named in honor of Patrick Russell (1726–1805), a Scottish herpetologist who first described many of India's snakes; and the name of the genus is from the Hindi word meaning "that lies hid", or "the lurker." Apart from being a member of the big four snakes in India, Daboia is also one of the species responsible for causing the most snakebite incidents and deaths among all venomous snakes on account of many factors, such as their wide distribution and frequent occurrence in highly populated areas. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. (Full article...)