Montivipera albizona
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Montivipera albizona |
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| ( Nilson , Andrén & Flärdh , 1990) |
Montivipera albizona ( Syn .: Vipera albizona ) is a medium-sized venomous snake from the family of vipers (Viperidae) of Eurasia .
description
This viper species is similar to the closely related Wagner's mountain otter ( M. wagneri ) and the Asian mountain otter ( M. xanthina ). It reaches a maximum length of 78 cm, but usually remains smaller.
Scaling
Montivipera albizona has a large head, clearly separated from the body, a relatively broad and rounded snout and vertically slit pupils . The shields on the top of the head are completely divided into small, keeled scales , only the upper eye shields are large and flat and have a long line of contact with the large eyes. There are 9 to 13 scales (circumorbitalia) around the eyes, there are also two rows of lower eye shields and 7 to 10 upper lip shields (supralabials). The nostrils lie in a single nasal shield, bordered by 1 to 2 apical shields. The lower edge of the lip is formed by 10 to 13 sublabials.
The body and head scales are keeled. On the back there are usually 23 rows of scales around the middle of the body. On the abdominal side there are 149 to 155 abdominal shields (ventralia), 2 preventralia and, following an undivided anal shield, 23 to 30 paired under- tail shields (subcaudalia).
coloring
The basic color of the snake is gray. A striking pattern of around 30 white-gray-black cross bands, some of which are dissolved in spots and separated by larger brownish areas, runs across the entire spine. A dark temple band extends from the eye to the corner of the mouth, and the animals usually have two curved dark spots on the back of the head. The belly is light gray with black spots.
distribution
The type specimens of the snake were collected in the mountainous regions of central Turkey, where the snake occurs on rocky mountain slopes.
Way of life
No specific information is available about the snake's way of life. Like other vipers, it probably feeds primarily on small mammals and lizards; in captivity they feed on mice. In addition, like all real vipers , it is probably viviparous .
Systematics
The taxonomic classification of the species is currently under discussion, therefore two alternative generic names can be found in the literature. Traditionally, the mountain otter was assigned to the genus Vipera and formed within this a species complex with a number of other species, which is known as the Vipera xanthina complex. All species within this complex share anatomical features with the mountain otter and live scattered across Asia Minor in higher altitudes of relatively isolated mountain landscapes.
Including the mountain otter, the genus Montivipera now includes the following species:
- M. albicornuta
- V. albizona
- Lebanese mountain otter ( M. bornmuelleri )
- Taurian mountain otter ( M. bulgardaghica )
- Alborz Mountain Otter ( M. latifii )
- Armenian mountain otter ( M. raddei )
- Wagner's mountain otter ( M. wagneri )
- Asian mountain otter ( M. xanthina )
Up until a few years ago, some of these species were considered to be subspecies of the Asian mountain otter, although the species status of V. bulgardaghica or V. albicornuta, for example, is still controversial today.
In 1999, it was proposed that this complex be relocated from the genus Vipera under the new genus name Montivipera , although this was only able to establish itself to a limited extent in the literature. In 2005 Joger and Nilson led the mountain otters under the species name Montivipera xanthina and the database The Reptile Database established the genus Montivipera as a separate genus and separated it from Vipera . Mallow et al. 2003 leads this and the other species, however, still under the established names within the genus Vipera and assign them to the subgenus Montivipera .
By Lenk et al. In 2001 the monophyly of the Montivipera species was confirmed as a separate taxon via immunological studies. According to the results, however, these represent the sister group of two great viper species ( Macrophia ) within a complex of Daboia , Macroocket and the Montivipera species, whereby the genus Vipera with the inclusion of the subgenus Montivipera is no longer a natural relatives group with all descendants of a parent species (monophyletic Group) is durable and to be regarded as paraphyletic.
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This view is confirmed by Garrigues et al. 2004, in which the vipers form a European section from different Vipera species as well as an oriental section from the named genera Daboia and Macroypena and the Montivipera species. Today all species of the xanthina complex of the genus Montivipera are added accordingly .
supporting documents
- ^ G. Nilson, C. Andrés: The mountain vipers of the middle east - The Vipera xanthina complex (Reptilia, Viperidae). Bonn Zoological Monographs No. 20, Bonn 1986; ISBN 3-925382-20-8
- ↑ All information from Mallows et al. 2003
- ↑ Montivipera in The Reptile Database ; Retrieved January 7, 2011.
- ↑ Lenk, P., S. Kalayabina, M. Wink & U. Joger: Evolutionary relationships among the true vipers (Reptilia: Viperidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 19; 2001: 94-104. ( Full text PDF )
- ↑ Thomas Garrigues, Catherine Dauga, Elisabeth Ferquel, Valérie Choumet and Anna-Bella Failloux: Molecular phylogeny of Vipera Laurenti, 1768 and the related genera Macroypena (Reuss, 1927) and Daboia (Gray, 1842), with comments about neurotoxic Vipera aspis aspis populations. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35 (1), 2005; Pp. 35-47.
- ↑ Nikolaus Sümple, Ulrich Joger: Recent advances in phylogeny and taxonomy of Near and Middle Eastern Vipers - an update. ZooKeys 31 (2009), Special Issue. ( PDF download ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ).
literature
- David Mallow, David Ludwig, Göran Nilson: True Vipers. Natural History and Toxicology of Old World Vipers, Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar (Florida) 2003; Pages 282-283. ISBN 0-89464-877-2
Web links
- Montivipera albizona in The Reptile Database
- Montivipera albizona inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Varol Tok, Ishmail Ugurtas, Murat Sevinç, Wolfgang Böhme, Pierre-André Crochet, Yakup Kaska, Yusuf Kumlutaş, Uğur Kaya, Aziz Avci, Nazan Üzüm, Can Yeniyurt, Ferdi Akarsu, 2008. Accessed September 10, 2013.