Spider tail viper
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Spider- tailed viper ( Pseudocerastes urarachnoides ) |
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| Pseudocerastes urarachnoides | ||||||||||||
| Bostanchi , Anderson , Kami & Papenfuss , 2006 |
The spinning tail Viper ( Pseudocerastes urarachnoides ) is a snake of the genus of deceit Horn vipers ( Pseudocerastes ) within the family of vipers (Viperidae). It occurs only in a limited area in western Iran . The scientific name urarachnoides (οὐρά tail + ἀράχνη spider + οειδής similarity), refers to the spider-like tail that serves as a prey bait for the snake.
features
The spider-tailed viper is a short-tailed trughorn viper, the ratio of body to tail length is 9.65 to 10.5. In one male caught alive, the tail was 8 cm long with a total length of 84 cm. The scales are much more wrinkled than other Iranian snakes and make the skin very rough. The head is flattened, the muzzle short and broadly rounded. The upper scales of the head are small and keeled. There is an upright, horn-like scale above the eye, which is surrounded by small scales. On a line between the horn-like scales there are 16 scales, 17 around the eyes. The dorsal scales are strongly keeled, several rows of lateral dorsal scales are weak, the outer rows are clear in the middle of the body, otherwise only indistinctly keeled. There are 21 or 23 scales around the middle of the body, depending on the specimen described. The number of abdominal scales is 145, the anal scale is one-piece. The tail is short, the number of subcaudalia pairs is small (15 in the known specimens), the distal pairs (away from the center of the body) form a 10.4 mm long, oval, bump-like structure and the subsequent, lateral dorsal tail scales (scutum caudal) protrude as elongated appendages and give the impression of arthropod legs . The caudal vertebrae extend into this structure and are not deformed or modified. The front half of the tongue is whiter and narrower than the back half.
The holotype and the paratype are described on the upper side grayish and brownish with four rows of large, dark spots. The two middle rows sometimes come together to form ribbons. On each side of the head there is a dark streak from the eyes to the corners of the mouth. The underside is cream-colored, with a row of dark spots on the side.
Distribution, habitat and way of life
Finds of the spider-tailed viper come from the Zāgros Mountains from Qasr-e Shirin to the province of Khuzestan . The type locality is 70 km southwest of the city of Ilam in the province of Ilam of the same name .
The species occurs in hilly and high-lying areas, mostly from gypsum rock. It prefers deep crevices and holes in the plaster of paris, during the warm summer months it is damp and cool there. One specimen was collected at night in open terrain in an agricultural region. The animals can be found hidden under small bushes near their burrows, the first descriptors speculate that the tail attachment could serve as bait for prey hunters. In the meantime, tail baiting has been observed and described as very attractive, looking like a fast moving spider. A bird was found in the stomach of the paratype . The spider-tailed viper may have a specialized diet and hunt, although not exclusively, birds. Nothing is known about reproduction.
Systematics
The spider-tailed viper is one of three species recognized today within the Trughorn vipers ( Pseudocerastes ). It was scientifically described for the first time in 2006 . One specimen collected during an expedition to Iran in 1968 was believed to be a mutation of the Persian Trughorn Viper ( Pseudocerastes persicus ). A second specimen was only collected in 2003 and accepted as an undescribed species, closely related to Pseudocerastes fieldi and Pseudocerastes persicus .
literature
- Hamid Bostanchi, Steven Anderson, Hagi Gholi Kami, Theodore J. Papenfuss (2006) A new species of Pseudocerastes with elaborate tail ornamentation from Western Iran (Squamata: Viperidae). In: Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 57 (14), pp. 443-450. ( Online )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Bostanchi et al.
- ↑ a b c d e Behzad Fathinia, Steven Anderson, Nasrullah Rastegar-Pouyani, Hasan Jahani, Hosien Mohamadi (2009): NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF Pseudocerastes urarachnoides (SQUAMATA: VIPERIDAE). In: Russian Journal of Herpetology 16, No. 2, pp. 134-138. ( Online )
- ↑ Pseudocerastes urarachnoides in The Reptile Database
- ↑ a b c Pseudocerastes urarachnoides in the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN 2019-2. Posted by: Steven C. Anderson, Theodore Papenfuss, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
Web links
- Pseudocerastes urarachnoides in The Reptile Database
- «Snake imitates spider» , article with video of hunting behavior