Gloydius halys

Gloydius halys is a venomous pitviper species found within a wide range that stretches across Asia, from Russia, east of the Urals, eastwards through China. Five subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominotypical form described here.[5]

Gloydius halys
Gloydius halys in Southern Mongolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Gloydius
Species:	G. halys
Binomial name
Gloydius halys (Pallas, 1776)
Synonyms[1]
Coluber halys Pallas, 1776 [Vipera (Echidna) Aspis] Pallasii Merrem, 1820 Trigonocephalus Halys — Lichtenstein In Eversmann & Lichtenstein, 1823 Vipera Halys — Lichtenstein In Eversmann & Lichtenstein, 1823 Trigonocephalus halys — F. Boie, 1827 Trigonocephalus [(Halys)] Halys — Gray, 1849 Halys pallasii — Günther, 1864 Ancistrodon halys — Boulenger, 1896 A[gkistrodon]. halys — Stejneger, 1907 Ancistrodon halys halys — Nikolsky, 1916 Agkistrodon halys halys — Mertens & L. Müller, 1928 Gloydius halys halys — Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981

Common names: Siberian pit viper,[2] Halys viper,[3] Halys pit viper,[4] more.

Description

Gloydius halys grows to a maximum total length of 59 cm (23 in), which was for a female, with an included tail length of 68 mm (2.7 in). The largest male on record measured 53 cm (21 in) in total length, which included a tail length of 80 mm (3.1 in). The body build is described as moderately stout with a snout that is slightly upturned when viewed from the side.[2]

Dorsally, G. halys is grayish, pale brown, reddish, or yellowish, with large dark spots or crossbars, the borders of which are serrated. One or two lateral series of smaller dark spots are present. There is a wide dark stripe behind the eye, bordered by light stripes both above and below. The venter is whitish, speckled with gray or brown.

The strongly keeled dorsal scales are arranged in 23 rows at midbody. The ventrals number 149-174. The anal plate is entire. The subcaudals number 31-44, and are divided (paired).[6]

Common names

Common names for G. halys include Siberian pit viper,[2] Halys viper,[3] Halys pit viper, Pallas' pit viper, Asiatic pit viper, Asiatic moccasin,[4] shchitomordnik,[7] Pallas' viper, Pallas pit viper, Korean pit viper, Mongolian pit viper.[8]

Geographic range

Gloydius halys is found in Russia, east of the Ural Mountains through Siberia, Iran, Mongolia to northern and central China, as well as the southern Ryukyu Islands of Japan. According to Gloyd and Conant (1990), the type locality given is "Salt Lake near the Lugaskoi Sawod (factory) on the Upper Yenisey" (Siberia, Russia). Redefined by Bour (1993) as "Naryn or Ryn Peski desert, near the Russia-Kazakhstan border".[1]

Subspecies

Subspecies[5]	Taxon author[5]	Common name[9]	Geographic range[1]
G. h. boehmei	Nilson, 1983	Boehme's pitviper[10]	Known only from the type locality: Andarab valley, province of Baghlan, at 2,500 m altitude, eastern Afghanistan.[9]
G. h. caraganus	(Eichwald, 1831)	Karaganda pitviper	From southeastern Europe, in the Ural and Emba River valleys, and (at least formerly) in the Volga River valley, through much of Kazakhstan, including northern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, into northwestern China.[2]
G. h. cognatus	(Gloyd, 1977)	Alashan pitviper	North-central China, from eastern Qinghai across southern Gansu, probably also in Qinghai, and possibly eastwards into Hebei and northwards into Inner Mongolia.[9]
G. h. halys	(Pallas, 1776)	Siberian pitviper	Southern Siberia and Mongolia, from the Zeya River west to longitude 74° E.[2]
G. h. mogoi	Bour, 1993		Western Mongolia.[9]

References

1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Washington: District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
2. Gloyd HK, Conant R (1990). Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 614 pp. 52 plates. LCCN 89-50342. ISBN 0-916984-20-6.
3. Gotch AF (1986). Reptiles -- Their Latin Names Explained. Poole, UK: Blandford Press. 176 pp. ISBN 0-7137-1704-1.
4. Steward JW (1971). The Snakes of Europe. Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated University Press (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press). 238 pp. LCCCN 77-163307. ISBN 0-8386-1023-4.
5. "Gloydius halys ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
6. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Ancistrodon halys, pp. 524-525).
7. Brown JH (1973). Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
8. U.S. Navy (1991). Poisonous Snakes of the World. New York: U.S. Government / Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
9. Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. First Edition. Berlin: Geitje Books. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
10. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Gloydius halys boehmei, p.30).

Further reading

• Pallas PS (1776). "Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des russischen Reichs ". Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, St. Petersburg 3. (Coluber halys, new species, p. 703). (in German and Latin).

External links

• Gloydius halys at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 12 December 2007.