Orlov's viper
| Orlov's viper | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Vipera orlovi | ||||||||||||
| Tuniyev & Ostrovskikh , 2001 |
The Orlov's viper ( Vipera orlovi ), also known as the Northwest Caucasus viper , is a species of the real otters ( Vipera ) within the vipers (Viperidae). Their distribution is limited to the Northwest Caucasus. The species was named after the Russian herpetologist Nikolai Lusteranovich Orlov (* 1952), who did outstanding research on Caucasian vipers.
features
Outwardly, the species is very similar to the Caucasian viper ( Vipera kaznakovi ), to which it is closely related. Orlov's viper is a smaller species of viper, the type specimen of an adult male reaches 51.4 cm total length. The upper side is the kind of brownish, reddish-brown, gray-green, gray-yellow or beige-colored base color. The ventral side is black with a few light spots. In the males in particular, a contrasting, blackish or dark brown zigzag band often runs across the light-colored back. The females are less contrasty in color.
distribution
The species is only local in the northwesternmost part of the Greater Caucasus , in the Russian Krasnodar region . spread. Here it occurs from Mount Papai in the west to Mount Bol'shoi Pseushko in the east.
habitat
The species occurs at altitudes between 450 and 1000 m above sea level. It lives on mountain meadows and on sparse slopes overgrown with bushes and trees, some with river beds nearby.
Way of life
Little is known about the way of life and its poison. The species is viviparous .
Danger
The species is considered to be very rare and endangered. Apart from the small distribution area, trapping for terraristic purposes is a major risk.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dieter Glandt: The amphibians and reptiles of Europe: All kinds in portrait. 2nd, updated and expanded edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2015, ISBN 978-3-494-01581-1 , pp. 677-679.
literature
- Dieter Glandt: The amphibians and reptiles of Europe: All kinds in portrait. 2nd, updated and expanded edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2015, ISBN 978-3-494-01581-1 , pp. 677-679.
Web links
- Vipera orlovi in The Reptile Database . Edited by: P. Uetz, P. Freed & J. Hošek, 1995–2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.