Clemson grad creates app to map venomous snake locations

CLEMSON, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A Clemson University Ph.D. graduate is making it easier for researchers and the community to track where venomous snakes live.

Dr. Rhett Rautsaw created VenomMaps, an app and database with distribution maps for all 158 pit viper species found in North, Central and South America.

Rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths are all pit vipers.

Rautsaw said pit vipers are responsible for more than 98 percent of snake bites in these regions and their toxicity can vary tremendously.

“With these distributions, researchers can better assess an area’s vulnerability to snakebite,” Rautsaw said. “By knowing which species live in their area, medical professionals will be able to treat envenomated patients better.”

Glad to finally see this out. We reconstructed the distributions by hand and performed species distribution modeling for all New World pitvipers. Go check out the app hosting all this data (better viewed on computer). https://t.co/rlm5fyCIvm https://t.co/of67GkVu8D pic.twitter.com/qUjNZFvcyj
— Rʜᴇᴛᴛ M. Rᴀᴜᴛsᴀᴡ 🐍 (@ReptileRhett) May 25, 2022