Vipera nikolskii

Vipera nikolskii is a venomous viper species endemic to Ukraine, eastern Romania, and southwestern Russia.[1][3] No subspecies are currently recognized.[4]

Vipera nikolskii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Vipera
Species:
V. nikolskii
Binomial name
Vipera nikolskii
Vedmederja, Grubant & Rudajewa, 1986[1]
Common names: Nikolsky's adder, forest-steppe adder.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, nikolskii, is in honor of Russian herpetologist Alexander Mikhailovich Nikolsky.[5]

Description

Adults of V. nikolskii are short and thick-bodied, growing to a maximum total length (including tail) of 680 mm (27 in).[2]

Holotype: ZDKU 14704, according to Golay et al. (1993).[1]

Geographic range

Vipera nikolskii is found in Central Ukraine and southwestern Russia.[1][3] Mallow et al. (2003) mention that the distribution is concentrated in the forest-steppe zone of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine.[2]

The type locality, according to Golay et al. (1993), is the banks of the Uda River, between Besljudovka and Vasishtshevo, near Kharkiv.[1]

Also, Vipera nikolskii was recently found in the eastern and southern part of Romania and Basarabia (Republic of Moldova) by Zinenko et al. (2010) and Strugariu & Zamfirescu (2008).

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References
  1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
  3. (in Russian). "Animals of Russia".
  4. "Vipera nikolskii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  5. 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. (Vipera nikolskii, p. 190).

Further reading
  • Golay P, Smith HM, Broadley DG, Dixon JR, McCarthy CJ, Rage J-C, Schätti B, Toriba M (1993). Endoglyphs and Other Major Venomous Snakes of the World. A Checklist. Geneva: Azemiops. 478 pp.
  • Strugariu A, Zamfirescu SR, Nicoarǎ A, Gherghel I, Sas I, Puşcaşu CM, Bugeac T (2008). "Preliminary data regarding the distribution of the herpetofauna in Iaşi County (Romania)". North-Western Journal of Zoology 4 (Supplement 1): S1-S23.
  • Vedmederja VI, Grubant VN, Rudajewa AV (1986). ["On the taxonomy of the three viper species in the Vipera kaznakowi complex"]. In: Ananjeva N, Borkin L (editors). "Systematics and Ecology of Amphibians and Reptiles". Proceedings of the Zoological Institute, Leningrad 157: 55-61. (In Russian).
  • Zinenko, Oleksandr; Ţurcanu, Vladimir; Strugariu, Alexandru (2010). "Distribution and morphological variation of Vipera berus nikolskii Vedmederja, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986 in Western Ukraine, The Republic of Moldova and Romania". Amphibia - Reptilia 31 (1): 51-67.
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