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Vipera aspis zinnikeri



Vipera aspis zinnikeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Viperinae
Genus: Vipera
Species: V. aspis
Subspecies: V. a. zinnikeri
Trinomial name
Vipera aspis zinnikeri
Kramer, 1958
Synonyms
  • Vipera aspis zinnikeri - Kramer, 1958
  • Vipera (Rhinaspis) aspis zinnikeri - Obst, 1983[1]
Common names: Gascony asp, Gascony viper,[2] Gascony asp viper.[3]

Vipera aspis zinnikeri is a venomous viper subspecies[4] found in the Pyrenees region of Spain and France.[5] It was named after a Swiss herpetologist.[2]

Contents

Description

Relatively small in size with a maximum of length of 65 cm. Also, the head is long and narrow compared to other members of this species. The total number of ventrals and subcaudals is 175-187 in males and 170-183 in females.[3]

The color pattern is much like that of Vipera berus. The dorsal pattern is fused into a broad, wavy or zigzag marking that contains a straight-edged, pale stripe about three scales wide. This pattern stands out clearly against the ground color, which is particularly light along the edges of the dorsal pattern. A series of dark vertical bars or extended ovals run along the flanks, opposing the indentations of the dorsal pattern.[3]

The aforementioned middorsal stripe may be pale beige or grey. The ground color of some specimens may approach clear orange.[2]

Geographic range

This race is found in the Pyrenees region of northeastern Spain and southwestern France.[5] Steward (1971) states that they occur in the Department of Gers in Gascony, southwestern France.[3] Street (1979) describes its range as "Gancony, Andorra and a nearby Spanish locality."[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. ^ a b c Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
  3. ^ a b c d 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.
  4. ^ Vipera aspis zinnikeri (TSN 635255). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 15 August 2006.
  5. ^ a b Vipera aspis at the New Reptile Database. Accessed 13 December 2007.
  6. ^ Street D. 1979. The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. ISBN 0-7134-1374-3.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vipera_aspis_zinnikeri". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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