Cerastes

noun

1. Either of two venomous snakes of the genus Cerastes that have a hornlike projection over each eye, including the horned viper.
2. Some horned viper.
3. A genus of very venomous African and Indian serpents, the horned vipers, of the suborder Solenoglypha and family Viperidæ, having a horn over each eye, and the tail distinct from the body. C. vipera or hasselquisti is the horned viper of northern Africa, a species known to the ancients.
4. A genus of poisonous African serpents, with a horny scale over each eye; the horned viper.
5. highly venomous viper of northern Africa and southwestern Asia having a horny spine above each eye