Péringuey’s Adder is one of many names for Bitis peringueyi; the most descriptive are “Namib desert sidewinding adder” and “dwarf sand adder”.
This one was variously speeding/attacking/burrowing-hiding on or near the surface of one of the Namib’s westernmost dunes, just in from the Atlantic Ocean…and almost literally next door to Swakopmund’s easternmost houses.
Its venom kills small, dune-dwelling lizards, whose water content it craves every bit as keenly as it does their proteins and fats.
Should a human get “too close”, said venom could prove decidedly discomforting, but not lethal.
Photo is copyright Doug Spencer, taken at 4.04 pm on 19 November 2022
This species is exquisitely adapted to its very particular environment – a “sea” of sand upon which rain rarely falls, but where moisture is oft-available via fogs, which frequently roll in from the nearby, chilly Atlantic.
Discover more here
Better still, watch this:
(if you are not averse to “explicit footage of predators in action”)