Horned vipers are small sidewinding vipers from deserts and semi-deserts of north Africa, Arabia, and Iran. They often hide just underneath sand with just the top of their heads sticking out. They can quickly sink into sand to cover themselves. Small horns are often present above the eyes, those without horns have prominent brow ridges. When present, the horns can fold back to streamline the snake as it dives under sand. Horned vipers are nocturnal. They are fairly mild mannered, but if pressed will writhe their rough scales against each other to produce a warning sound like that of the saw scaled viper.