The large poison fang is on its posterior end but because the bone is so shortened anteroposteriorly the fang lies in the front part of the mouth. The canal for the transmission of venom is usually completely closed so that no external groove is visible (solenoglyphous). At rest, the tooth is folded back to lie horizontally along the upper jaw. In striking, the fang is brought forward from the resting position by a movement of the bones forming the palatomaxillary arch, with the maxilla turning like a hinge on the anterior end of the prefrontal. Most elapidae, with their smaller fixed fangs, tend to bite and hold on, but the viperids, with their large and powerful fangs, are able to inject a greater amount of poison at the instant of bite and they tend to strike and then draw back. Replacement of the fangs is-the same as in the Elapidae, and two fangs are often present at the same time. There are no other maxillary teeth. In other characters, the viperidae resemble the elapids.Snake venoms are highly complex protein mixtures which vary in composition, and hence in effect, from species to species. In general, though, the poison of the elapids and hydrophids acts primarily on the nervous system (neurotoxic) vvhile that of viperids acts on the blood (hemotoxic ). The Viperidae are divided into two subfamilies: the true vipers (Viperinae), and the pit vipers (Crotalinae).
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