Vipera nikolskii
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| Species: | V. nikolskii
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| Vipera nikolskii | |
- Common names: Nikolsky's adder, forest-steppe adder.[2]
Vipera nikolskii is a venomous viper species endemic to Ukraine, eastern Romania, and southwestern Russia.[1][3] No subspecies are currently recognized.[4]
Etymology
The specific name, nikolskii, is in honor of Russian herpetologist Alexander Mikhailovich Nikolsky.[5]
Description
Adults of V. nikolskii are short and thick-bodied, growing to a maximum total length (body + tail) of 680 mm (27 in).[2]
Holotype: ZDKU 14704, according to Golay et al. (1993).[1]
Geographic range
V. nikolskii is found in Central Ukraine and southwestern Russia.[1][3] Mallow et al. (2003) mention that the distribution is concentrated in the forest-steppe zone of the Charkov region in Ukraine.[2]
The type locality, according to Golay et al. (1993), is the banks of the Uda River, between Besljudovka and Vasishtshevo, near Kharkov.[1]
Also, Vipera nikolskii was recently found in the eastern and southern part of Romania (even in Bucharest / Vacaresti Natural Reservation Park) and Basarabia (Republic of Moldova) by Zinenko et al. (2010) and Strugariu & Zamfirescu (2008).
See also
- List of viperine species and subspecies
- Viperinae by common name
- Viperinae by taxonomic synonyms
- Snakebite
References
- ^ a b c d e McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ a b c Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
- ^ a b Template:Ru icon> "Animals of Russia".
- ^ "Vipera nikolskii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 312 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Vipera nikolskii, p. 190.)
Further reading
- Golay P, Smith HM, Broadley DG, Dixon JR, McCarthy CJ, Rage J-C, Schätti B, Toriba M. 1993. Endoglyphs and Other Major Venomous Snakes of the World. A Checklist. Geneva: Azemiops. 478 pp.
- Strugariu A, Zamfirescu SR, Nicoarǎ A, Gherghel I, Sas I, Puşcaşu CM, Bugeac T. 2008. Preliminary data regarding the distribution of the herpetofauna in Iaşi County (Romania). North-Western Journal of Zoology 4 (Supplement 1): S1-S23.
- Vedmederja VI, Grubant VN, Rudajewa AV. 1986. [On the taxonomy of the three viper species in the Vipera kaznakowi complex]. In: N. Ananjeva and L. Borkin (eds.), Systematics and ecology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute, Leningrad 157: 55-61. (In Russian).
- Zinenko, Oleksandr; Vladimir Ţurcanu; Alexandru Strugariu. 2010. Distribution and morphological variation of Vipera berus nikolskii Vedmederja, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986 in Western Ukraine, The Republic of Moldova and Romania. Amphibia - Reptilia 31 (1): 51-67.
External links
- Vipera nikolskii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 21 November 2007.