Taurian mountain otter
| Taurian mountain otter | ||||||||||||
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Taurian mountain otter ( Montivipera bulgardaghica ) |
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| Montivipera bulgardaghica | ||||||||||||
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The Taurian mountain otter ( Montivipera bulgardaghica , Syn . : Vipera bulgardaghica ) is a species of the mountain otters ( Montivipera ) within the vipers (Viperidae). Their distribution is limited to the area at Bulgar Dagh in the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey .
features
The Taurian mountain otter reaches an average length of around 50 to 60 cm. The basic color is brown-gray with a mark on the back of offset dark, rectangular spots that can partially merge into a band. The animals also have small and round dark spots on the sides of their bodies. The ventral side is gray and lightly spotted. A temple band runs from the temple over the eyes to the corner of the mouth.
The head is clearly separated from the rest of the body. The eyes have vertical pupils . The top of the head is covered by 35 to 43 small individual scales, with 6 scales lying next to each other at the narrowest point between the super-eye shields (supraocularia). Below the eyes there is a series of under eye shields (subocularia), underneath are 9 upper lip shields ( supralabials ). The top fore-eye shield touches the nasal . The body scales are keeled. There are usually 23, less often 25, rows of scales around the middle of the body. The under- tail shields ( Subcaudalia ) are divided as in all species of the genus.
distribution and habitat
The Taurian mountain otter can only be found in the higher mountain areas on Bulgar Dagh in the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey . The animals prefer rocky mountain meadows with herbaceous vegetation at altitudes of 2100 to 2700 m as their habitat.
Way of life
Very little is known about the way of life of the Taurian mountain otter, it is assumed that behavior is similar to that of the Lebanese mountain otter ( M. bornmuelleri ) and the Asian mountain otter ( M. xanthina ). It is relatively sluggish, but can bite very quickly when threatened. It emits a clear hissing sound as a warning. It feeds mainly on small mammals such as mice and rats and is viviparous ( oviviviparous ).
Systematics
The taxonomic classification of the species is currently under discussion, so there are two alternative generic names 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
- M. 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 .
Danger
The Taurian mountain otter is classified as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List . It is also listed as a protected species in Appendix III of the Bern Convention .
Snake venom
The poison of the Taurian mountain otter is haemotoxic , medical treatment with an adequate antivenin is necessary.
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 6, 2011.
- ↑ Lenk, P., S. Kalayabina, M. Wink, U. Joger: Evolutionary relationships among the true vipers (Reptilia: Viperidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Volume 19, No. 1, 2001, pp. 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. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Volume 35, No. 1, 2005, pp. 35-47.
- ↑ Nikolaus Sümple, Ulrich Joger: Recent advances in phylogeny and taxonomy of Near and Middle Eastern Vipers - an update. In: ZooKeys. Volume 31, 2009 (Special Issue) ( PDF download ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice . ).
literature
- David Mallow, David Ludwig, Göran Nilson: True Vipers. Natural History and Toxicology of Old World Vipers. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar (Florida) 2003, ISBN 0-89464-877-2 , pp. 285-287.
- Ulrich Gruber: The snakes of Europe. Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-440-05753-4 , pp. 198-199.
Web links
- Montivipera bulgardaghica in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: European Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on July 3 of 2007.
- Montivipera bulgardaghica in The Reptile Database