Macrovipera lebetina

Macrovipera lebetina
Turan blunt-nosed viper, M. l. turanica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Subfamily:	Viperinae
Genus:	Macrovipera
Species:	M. lebetina
Binomial name
Macrovipera lebetina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
[Coluber] Lebetinus - Linnaeus, 1758 Vipera lebetina - Daudin, 1803 Vipera Euphratica - Martin, 1838 Daboia Euphratica - Gray, 1849 V[ipera]. (Echidna) lebetina - Jan, 1863 Vipera lebethina - De Filippi, 1865 Vipera lebetina - Boulenger, 1896 Macrovipera lebetina - Reuss, 1927 Vipera lebetina lebetina - Mertens & Müller, 1928 Vipera lebetina euphratica - Schmidt, 1939 Vipera libertina - Roitman, 1967 Vipera lebetina - Elter, 1981 Daboia (Daboia) lebetina lebetina - Obst, 1983 Daboia lebetina - Engelmann et al., 1985 Vipera lebetina cypriensis - Schätti & Sigg, 1989 Daboia (Vipera) lebetina - Radspieler & Schweiger, 1990 Macrovipera lebetina - Herrmann, Joger & Nilson, 1992[1]

Common names: blunt-nosed viper, Lebetine viper, Levant viper,^[2] more.

Macrovipera lebetina is a venomous viper species found in North Africa, much of the Middle East, and as far east as Kashmir. Five subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate race described here.^[3]

Description

This is a large snake, with females reaching 150 cm (59.1 in) in length and males a little less. Sizes vary between different populations, with M. l. lebetina being somewhat smaller.^[2]

It will be found under short trees with thick shade close to the roots if the outside temperatures reaches 45 Celsius plus.

The head is broad, triangular and distinct from the neck. The snout is rounded and blunt when viewed from above, which is why it is also called the blunt-nosed viper. The nasal and nasorostral scales are almost completely fused into a single plate, although some variation occurs.^[2]

The dorsal scales are strongly keeled, except for those bordering the ventrals. M. l. lebetina usually has 146-163 ventral scales. The anal scale is single.^[2]

The color pattern is less varied than one might expect from a species that is so widely distributed. The head is normally uniformly colored, although it can occasionally be marked with a dark V-shape. Dorsally, the ground color for the body can be gray, brown, beige, pinkish, olive or khaki. The pattern, if present, is darker, can be gray, bluish, rust or brown in color, and may consist of a middorsal row or double row of large spots. When two rows are present, the spots may alternate or oppose, which can produce anything from a saddled to a continuous zigzag pattern. The spots are usually brown, dark gray or black, but are sometimes red, brick, yellow or olive in color.^[2] Males are usually 3 and a half feet (1 m) long, while females are 5 feet (1.5 m) long.

Common names

There are many names for this viper. Here are some common names: Blunt-nosed viper, Lebetine viper, Levant viper^[2], Levantine viper^[4], Levantine adder^[5], Kufi or Kufi viper (from Arabic), Gjurza (from Russian)^[2], coffin snake, Levante viper, mountain viper^[6], Gunas (from Kashmiri), Fina or Kontonoura (the second comes from the translation of Cypriot local dialect for "short-tailed").

Geographic range

The Blunt-nosed viper can be found in these places, Algeria, Tunisia, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Russian Caucasia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhistan, Tadzikhistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir, India.

At one point there was also a report of this species from Yemen by Scortecci (1929).

The type locality originally given was "Oriente". Mertens and Müller (1928) suggested restricting the range to "Cypern" (Cyprus).^[1]

Conservation status

Lebetine vipers are endangered. The species is listed as strictly protected (Appendix II) under the Berne Convention.^[7]

Subspecies

Subspecies[3]	Taxon author[3]	Common name[8]	Geographic range[2]
M. l. cernovi	(Chikin & Szczerbak, 1992)		Northeast Iran, southern Turkmenistan, parts of northern Afghanistan and Pakistan (Kashmir).
M. l. lebetina	(Linnaeus, 1758)	Cyprian blunt-nosed viper	Cyprus
M. l. obtusa	(Dwigubsky, 1832)	Levant blunt-nosed viper	Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, north Jordan, Caucasus (incl. Armenia), Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Iran, southern Afghanistan, Pakistan (Kashmir), and north India
M. l. transmediterranea	(Nilson & Andrén, 1988)		Algeria, Tunisia
M. l. turanica	(Cernov, 1940)	Turan blunt-nosed viper	Eastern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southwestern Kazakhstan, parts of northern Afghanistan and western Pakistan

Taxonomy

This species is currently subject to review. It is likely that certain subspecies will soon be elevated to valid species status. The nominate subspecies was restricted to Cyprus in 1928 by Mertens and Müller and so does not actually occur in the Levant region.^[2]

The populations found in southern Afghanistan, Pakistan (Kashmir) and northern India are sometimes referred to as a separate subspecies: M. l. peilei. These normally have semidivided supraoculars.^[2]

Vipera Euphratica was originally used to refer to the populations that occur in the Euphrates river basin of Turkey, Syria and Iraq. It was synonymized with M. l. obtusa in several publications, including Joger (1984).^[2] However, Golay et al. (1993) include it in the synonymy of M. l. lebetina.^[1]

See also

• List of viperine species and subspecies
• Viperinae by common name
• Viperinae by taxonomic synonyms
• Snakebite

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Macrovipera lebetina". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=634977. Retrieved 9 August 2006. 
4. ^ Macrovipera lebetina at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 August 2007.
5. ^ Brown JH. 1973. Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
6. ^ U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
7. ^ Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Appendix II at Council of Europe. Accessed 9 October 2006.
8. ^ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.

Further reading

• Al-Oran R, Rostum S, Joger U, Amr Z. 1998. First record of the Levantine Viper, Macrovipera lebetina, from Jordan. Zoology in the Middle East. Heidelberg 16: 65-70.
• Boulenger GA. 1887. List of reptiles and batrachians from Cyprus. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5) 20: 344-345.
• Boulenger GA. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp.
• Golay P, Smith HM, Broadley DG, Dixon JR, McCarthy. Golray P, Schatti J-C, Toriba M. 1993. Endoglyphs and Other Major Venomous Snakes of the World: A Checklist. New York: Springer-Verlag. 393 pp.
• Herrmann HW, Joger U, Lenk P, Wink M. 1999. Morphological and molecular phylogenies of viperines: conflicting evidence? Kaupia (Darmstadt) (8): 21-30.

External links

• Macrovipera lebetina at Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe. Accessed 10 August 2006.
• Macrovipera at Herpbreeder. Accessed 10 August 2006.
• Macrovipera lebetina at Wildlife of Pakistan. Accessed 15 March 2007.
• Macrovipera lebetina at Checklist of Armenia's Amphibians and Reptiles, Tadevosyan's Herpetological Resources. Accessed 30 March 2007.