Editing Viper (section)

===Prey tracking===
[[File:(Westliche Diamantklapperschlange) Crotalus atrox.jpg|thumb|right|The western diamondback rattlesnake ''[[Crotalus atrox]]'', the venom of which contains proteins allowing the snake to track down bitten prey]]
[[Hemotoxin|Hemotoxic]] venom takes more time than neurotoxic venom to immobilize prey, so viperid snakes need to track down prey animals after they have been bitten,<ref name="Hay02"/> in a process known as "prey relocalization". Vipers are able to do this via certain proteins contained in their venom. This important adaptation allowed [[Rattlesnake|rattlesnakes]] to evolve the strike-and-release bite mechanism, which provided a huge benefit to snakes by minimizing contact with potentially dangerous prey animals.<ref name=Saviolaetal2013/> This adaptation, then, requires the snake to track down the bitten animal to eat it, in an environment full of other animals of the same species. [[Western diamondback rattlesnake|Western diamondback rattlesnakes]] respond more actively to mouse carcasses that have been injected with crude rattlesnake venom. When the various components of the venom were separated out, the snakes responded to mice injected with two kinds of [[disintegrin]]s, which are responsible for allowing the snakes to track down their prey.<ref name=Saviolaetal2013>{{cite journal| last1 = Saviola| first1 = A.J.| last2 = Chiszar | first2 = D.| last3 = Busch| first3 = C. | last4 = Mackessy| first4 = S.P.| year = 2013| title = Molecular basis for prey relocation in viperid snakes| journal = BMC Biology| volume = 11 | pages = 20| doi =10.1186/1741-7007-11-20| pmid = 23452837| pmc = 3635877| doi-access = free}}</ref>