- Common names: meadow viper, Ursini's viper, meadow adder, (more).
Vipera ursinii is a
venomousA venomous snake is a snake that uses modified saliva, snake venom, usually delivered through highly specialized teeth such as hollow fangs, for the purpose of prey immobilization and self-defense...
viperThe Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the Crotalinae. Currently, 12 genera and 66 species are recognized...
and a very widespread
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
, found from southeastern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
all the way to
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
(
XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
). No subspecies are currently recognized.
Description
Adults average 40-50 cm in length, although specimens of 63-80 cm have been reported.
Common names
Meadow viper, Ursini's viper,, meadow adder, Orsini's viper, field viper, field adder. Although the following subspecies are currently invalid according to the taxonomy used here, their common names may still be encountered:
- V. u. ursinii - Italian meadow viper.
- V. u. macrops - karst viper, karst adder.
- V. u. rakosiensis - Danubian meadow viper.
- V. u. renardi - steppe viper, steppe adder, Renard's viper.
- V. u. wettsteini - French meadow viper.
Geographic range
Macedonia,Southeastern
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, eastern
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
(extinct),
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
, central
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
, Bosnia-Herzegovina, northern and northeastern
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
, northern
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
, northwestern
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
,
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
,
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , formally the Republic of Azerbaijan , is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and across the Khazakstan, Kirgizia and eastern
UzbekistanUzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan , is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union...
steppes to
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
(
XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
). The type locality given is " ... monti dell' Abruzzo prossimi alla provincia d'Ascoli... " (
mountains of AbruzziGran Sasso d'Italia is a mountain located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy . The Gran Sasso forms the centerpiece of the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park which was established in 1993 and holds the highest mountains in continental Italy south of the Alps and is part of the...
,
Ascoli ProvinceThe Province of Ascoli Piceno is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ascoli Piceno.It has an area of 1,228 km², and a total population of 212,846 . There are 33 comuni in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Ascoli Piceno.-External links:*...
, Italy).
Conservation status
This species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with the following criteria: A1c+2c (v2.3, 1994). This indicates an observed, estimated, inferred or suspected population reduction of at least 80% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat. For the same reason, a population reduction of at least 80% is projected or suspected to be met within the next 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer. Year assessed: 1996.
In addition, this species is listed on CITES Appendix I, which means that it is threatened with extinction if trade is not halted, and is a strictly protected species (Appendix II) under the
Berne ConventionThe Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats 1979, also known as the Bern Convention , came into force on June 1, 1982....
.
Taxonomy
There is high genetic diversity within samples of V. ursinii
and several species may be involved. At least six subspecies may be encountered in modern literature:
V. u. ursinii
- Bonaparte, 1835
V. u. eriwanensis
- Reuss, 1933
V. u. rakosiensis
- Méhely, 1893
V. u. renardi
- Christoph, 1861
V. u. moldavica
- Nilson, Andrén & Joger, 1993
V. u. graeca
- Nilson & Andrén, 1988
Golay et al. (1993) recognize the first four, while Mallow et al. (2003) recognize the last two. However, McDiarmid et al. (1999), and thus ITISItis may refer to* Integrated Taxonomic Information System * -itis, an English suffix typically used to denote an inflammation* "The Itis" , an episode of the TV series The Boondocks...
, feel that more definitive data is necessary before any subspecies can be recognized.
External links
Vipera ursinii
) at ARKive. Accessed 5 October 2006.
Vipera ursinii
at Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe. Accessed 9 October 2006.
Orsini's viper, Vipera ursinii
at Reptiles & Amphibians of France. Accessed 30 October 2006.
Vipera eriwanensis at
Checklist of Armenia's Amphibians and Reptiles, Tadevosyan's Herpetological Resources. Accessed 30 March 2007.