Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. Daboia is a monotypic genus of venomous Old World vipers. The single member species, D. russelii, is found in Asia throughout the Indian subcontinent, much of Southeast Asia, southern China and Taiwan. The species was named in honor of Patrick Russell (1726–1805), a Scottish herpetologist who first described many of India's snakes, and the name of the genus is from the Hind