Wagner's mountain otter
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Wagner's mountain otter ( Vipera wagneri ) |
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| ( Nilson & Andrén , 1984) |
Wagner's viper ( Montivipera wagneri , Syn. : Vipera wagneri ) is a medium sized venomous snake from the family of Vipers (Viperidae) Eurasia . This viper species was only known from a single specimen in 1984. But then more animals were found in northeastern Turkey, which confirmed the first description.
description
This species of viper grows to around 50 to 70 cm long. Its closest morphological relative is the Asian Minor Mountain Otter ( Vipera xanthina ). Wagner's mountain otter has a relatively broad snout and vertically slit pupils .
The body and head scales are keeled. There are 23 rows of scales around the middle of the body on the back. The shields on the top of the head are completely divided into small scales , only the upper eye shields are large and flat. In addition, there are two rows of under eye shields and nine upper lip shields.
The basic color of the males is gray, that of the females brownish-beige. Males and females also differ in that the males have sharp and clear-cut patterns and are strongly drawn. Females are much paler. A distinctive pattern of dark spots with a black border and a brownish center extends over the entire back. This drawing merges into a line on the tail. A dark temple band runs from the eye to the corner of the mouth. The belly is light gray with black spots.
distribution
Eastern Turkey north of Lake Van ; also Northern Iran , near Lake Urmia . Rocky mountain slopes with loose ground vegetation, often near small streams. It occurs up to heights of 1200 to 2000 meters.
Way of life
Mostly active during the day, especially active in the morning and in the afternoon, in the hot season also at dusk. When threatened, it emits a loud hissing sound. Vipera wagneri hibernates for several months . It feeds on small mammals, lizards and birds, if there are any.
It is viviparous , which means that the young snakes hatch from the thin egg membrane in the womb. The young snakes are about 15 cm long.
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
- 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 ( V. wagneri )
- Asian mountain otter ( V. 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 .
Snake venom
Wagner's mountain otter is said to have a very effective hemotoxin ; it mainly affects the blood and vascular system as well as the circulation. Because the poison can also disrupt the oxygen supply, tissue can die, especially around the bite site. The toxin also causes blood clotting disorder .
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ^ 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
- ↑ January 2011 Montivipera January 22, 2011 in The Reptile Database
- ↑ 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. ).
- ↑ Mark O'Shea: Poisonous snakes - All kinds of the world in their habitats , Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, 2006. ISBN 3-440-10619-5
literature
- David Mallow, David Ludwig, Göran Nilson: True Vipers. Natural History and Toxicology of Old World Vipers, Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar (Florida) 2003; Pages 293-295. ISBN 0-89464-877-2
- Ulrich Gruber: Kosmos nature guide, the snakes of Europe and around the Mediterranean Stuttgart, 1989
Web links
- Montivipera wagneri in The Reptile Database
- Picture of an unusually marked Vipera wagneri
- Montivipera wagneri inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Posted by: Yakup Kaska, Yusuf Kumlutaş, Aziz Avci, Göran Nilson, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
