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Painted saw-scaled viper

Tingle reprints Mendelssohn 1965: 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h) for Echis coloratus, with no details on how many animals were tested.

A painted saw-scaled viper can travel about 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h), an estimate.

Also known as Echis coloratus
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Top speed

Published as 1.1 km/hPublished as 1.1 km/hPublished as 1.1 km/h

Jessica L. Tingle 2020, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Table 3 and the travel-speed discussion. Echis coloratus is 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h). No details on conditions, and it is unclear how many individuals were tested. Mendelssohn 1965. Qualifier estimated. Travel, not a strike.

EstimatedIntegrative and Comparative Biology (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 22% of walking paceConstant · A typical walking pace, 5 km/h
  • 2.9% of Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • A football field in 5 minConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast can a painted saw-scaled viper travel?

A painted saw-scaled viper can travel about 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h), an estimate.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Painted saw-scaled viper is labeled Estimated. Calculated or approximated rather than directly timed.

What is the source?

The figure cites Integrative and Comparative Biology, “Facultatively sidewinding snakes, Table 3, painted saw-scaled viper.”

Where does Painted saw-scaled viper rank?

Painted saw-scaled viper is 6th of 7 on Fastest Snakes.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Tingle reprints Mendelssohn 1965: about 0.7 mph (1.1 km/h) for the painted saw-scaled viper, Echis coloratus, with no details on how many animals were tested.

Species
Echis coloratus
Speed
0.684 mph (1.1 km/h)
Source
Mendelssohn 1965

  1. 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h), sample unknown

    Echis coloratus at 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h) comes from the same 1965 paper as Field's horned viper, and Tingle notes that the number of animals is not described. The comparison keeps 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h) and that gap. It does not invent a sample size.

  2. Saw-scaled, still slow

    The name describes the scales, not a speed. 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h) is slightly under the 0.808 mph (1.3 km/h) Field's horned viper from the same source. The black mamba's 9.9 mph (16 km/h) range is a different kind of citation.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 1.1km/h0.684mph0.306m/s0.594knRanked figure

    Jessica L. Tingle 2020, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Table 3 and the travel-speed discussion. Echis coloratus is 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h). No details on conditions, and it is unclear how many individuals were tested. Mendelssohn 1965. Qualifier estimated. Travel, not a strike.

    The missing sample size is why the qualifier is estimated.

    Estimated
    Integrative and Comparative Biology (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Species
Echis coloratus
Speed
0.684 mph (1.1 km/h)
Source
Mendelssohn 1965, via Tingle 2020

Context

Background

Tingle's Table 3 says 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h) for Echis coloratus and attributes it to Mendelssohn 1965. The notes say there are no details on the conditions and that it is unclear how many individuals were tested. The figure is 0.684 mph (1.1 km/h), qualifier estimated.

The number is travel speed. A strike is not published for this cell.

Head to head

Compare Painted saw-scaled viper

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