_Distribution._--_Vipera aspis_ is found over the whole of France south of a line connecting the departments Loire-Inférieure, Orne, Seine-et-Marne, and Meurthe-et-Moselle, and ascends the Pyrenees to the altitude of 7,250 feet. In Germany it is known from Lorraine and the Black Forest, in Switzerland from the western and southern parts, up to 5,000 feet on the northern side of the Alps. It occurs also in Austria, in the Southern Tyrol and in the Karst, and is distributed over the whole of Italy and Sicily, reaching an altitude of 9,700 feet in the Alps. Most of the specimens from the western parts of the Balkan Peninsula which have been referred to this species belong, apparently, to _V. berus_, var. _bosniensis_, but one from Jahorin in Bosnia, altitude 5,650 feet, preserved in the Bosnian Museum, is pronounced by Werner to be an unquestionable _V. aspis_. _Habits._--This Viper shows a predilection for hot and dry localities. It is both diurnal and nocturnal, and does not seem to wander far from its hole in a rock or in the earth. It is slow in its movements, but very irascible, and innumerable accidents, in some cases fatal to man, are caused yearly in many parts of France, where it is extremely abundant. Its food consists principally of small mammals, young birds, and lizards, but the very young eat insects and worms. In France it retires into its winter-quarters at the end of October or in November, and numerous specimens often congregate in the same hole; it resumes its activity towards the end of March or the beginning of April, sometimes as early as the end of February. In rare cases it will even leave its retreat in the middle of winter, to bask in the sun. In captivity it long retains its savage temper, and usually refuses all food. _Reproduction._--_Vipera aspis_ pairs in April and May; the pair are entwined in each other's coils. The young, four to eighteen in number, but rarely more than ten, are born in August or September, and measure 7 or 8 inches. Several cases of dicephaly in young specimens have been described. 25. VIPERA LATASTII, Bosca Lataste's Viper _Form._--Heavier than in the preceding. Head similar, but snout more pointed and loreal region slanting towards the lip, well visible when the head is viewed from above. The extent to which the snout is turned up at the end varies considerably, sometimes similar to certain specimens of _V. aspis_, sometimes forming an appendage which is only a little less developed than in _V. ammodytes_. Length of tail six and a half to seven and a half times in total length in males, seven and a half to nine times in females. [Illustration: FIG. 37]