Vipera aspis francisciredi

Vipera aspis francisciredi
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Subfamily:	Viperinae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. aspis
Subspecies:	V. a. francisciredi
Trinomial name
Vipera aspis francisciredi Laurenti, 1768
Synonyms
Vipera Francisci Redi - Laurenti, 1768 [Coluber] Redi - Gmelin, 1788 Vipera Redi - Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 Vipera aspis var. rufa - Bonaparte, 1834 Vipera aspis var. fusca - Bonaparte, 1834 [Vipera aspis] var. rufescens - De Betta, 1853 (nomen nudum) [Vipera aspis] var. cineria - De Betta, 1853 (nomen nudum) Vipera aspis var. vulgaris - Massalongo, 1853 Vipera aspis var. plumbea - Massalongo, 1854 Vipera aspis var. cinera - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. cinerascens - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. rufescens - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. brunnea - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. fulva - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. rufiventris - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. fusca-plumbeiventris - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. Isabellina - De Betta, 1857 Vipera aspis var. redii - Calabresi, 1924 Vipera aspis francisciredi - Kramer, 1971 Vipera aspis heinzdischeki - Sochurek, 1979 Vipera (Rhinaspis) aspis francisredi - Obst, 1983[1]

Common names: Central Italian asp.^[2]

Vipera aspis francisciredi is a venomous viper subspecies^[3] found in central Italy.^[4]

Description

Head distinctly swollen behind the eyes and upper lips; in adults, these features are clearly visible when viewed from above.^[4]

Regarding the color pattern, many examples of this species have a white or cream colored spot near the outer edge of the ventral scales; these are smaller in V. a. aspis (if at all present), but much more apparent in V. a. francisciredi.^[4]

Geographic range

V. a. francisciredi near Pienza, Italy

Street (1979) describes this subspecies as inhabiting most of Italy, where it is the most common and widely distributed venomous snake. It also occurs in the Swiss canton of Ticino, south of the Monte Ceneri Pass, but is not found west of nearby Lake Maggiore. Also in the north, in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, it can be found about as far northwards as Meran, but is not found in Austria, and as far east as Gorizia (on the border with Slovenia). In the south of Italy, it is absent from Basilicata and Calabria.^[5]

In the former Yugoslavia, it is a rare inhabitant of the Julian Alps (Pozzi, 1966). There have been reports of specimens from Ripanj near Belgrade, Jahorin in Bosnia and other part of Yugoslavia, but some of these may have been confused with V. berus bosniensis.^[5] Nevertheless, the EMBL describes the range of this subspecies as stretching from southern Switzerland, northern and central Italy, to Slovenia and northwestern Croatia.^[6]

The type locality listed by Laurenti (1768) for Vipera Francisci Redi (= V. a. francisciredi) is "Austriaco & Italico" (Austria and Italy).^[1]

Conservation status

This subspecies is classified as Endangered (EN) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).^[7][8]

See also

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

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 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. ^ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
3. ^ "Vipera aspis francisciredi". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=635253. Retrieved 15 August 2006. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} 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.
5. ^ ^{a b} Street D. 1979. The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. ISBN 0-7134-1374-3.
6. ^ Vipera aspis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 12 December 2007.
7. ^ Vipera aspis at IUCN Red List. Accessed 6 October 2006.
8. ^ 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1)IUCN Red List. Accessed 6 October 2006.

Further reading

• Pozzi A. 1966. Geonemia e catalogo ragionato degli Anfibi e Rettili della Jugoslavia. Natura, 51(i) pp. 1-55, Milan.

External links

• ITIS