''Macrovipera lebetinus'', known as the blunt-nosed viper, Lebetine viper, Levant viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . and by other common names, is a

viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

species found in North Africa, much of the Middle East, and as far east as

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. Like all other vipers, it is venomous. Five

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are currently recognized, including the nominate race described here.

Common names

Common names for this viper include: blunt-nosed viper, Lebetine viper, Levant viper, Levantine viper, Levantine adder,Brown JH. 1973. ''Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes''. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. . ''kufi'' or kufi viper (from Arabic), ''gjurza'' (from Persian), coffin snake, Levante viper, mountain viper,U.S. Navy. 1991. ''Poisonous Snakes of the World''. United States Government. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. . ''gunas'' (from

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

), ''fina'' or ''kontonoura'' (the second comes from the translation of Greek Cypriot dialect for "short-tailed").

Taxonomy

This species is currently subject to review. It is likely that certain subspecies will soon be elevated to valid species status. The nominate subspecies was restricted to Cyprus in 1928 by Mertens and Müller and so does not actually occur in the Levant region. The populations found in southern Afghanistan and northern India are sometimes referred to as a separate subspecies: ''M. l. peilei''. These normally have semidivided supraoculars. ''Vipera Euphratica'' was originally used to refer to the populations that occur in the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

river basin of Turkey, Syria and Iraq. It was synonymized with ''M. l. obtusa'' in several publications, including Joger (1984). However, Golay et al. (1993) include it in the synonymy of ''M. l. lebetina''. Obst (1983) suggested inclusion of the species in the genus '' Daboia'' instead of ''Macrovipera''.

Subspecies

Description

This is a large snake, with females reaching 150 cm (59.1 in) in total length (body + tail) and males a little less. Sizes vary among different populations, with ''M. l. lebetina'' being somewhat smaller. The head is broad, triangular, and distinct from the neck. The snout is rounded and blunt when viewed from above, which is why it is also called the blunt-nosed viper. The

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery ** ...

and nasorostral scales are almost completely fused into a single plate, although some variation occurs. The dorsal scales are strongly keeled, except for those bordering the

ventrals In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

. ''M. l. lebetina'' usually has 146-163 ventral scales. The anal scale is single. The color pattern is less varied than one might expect from a species that is so widely distributed. The head is normally uniformly colored, although it can occasionally be marked with a dark V-shape. Dorsally, the ground color of the body can be gray, brown, beige, pinkish, olive, or khaki. The pattern, if present, is darker. It can be gray, bluish, rust, or brown in color, and may consist of a middorsal row or double row of large spots. When two rows are present, the spots may alternate or oppose, which can produce anything from a saddled to a continuous zigzag pattern. The spots are usually brown, dark gray, or black, but are sometimes red, brick, yellow, or olive in color. Males are usually 3 and a half feet (1.1 m) in total length, while females may attain a total length of 5 feet (1.5 m).

Habitat

It may be found under short trees with thick shade if the outside temperature is greater than 45° Celsius.

Geographic range

The blunt-nosed viper can be found in Algeria, Tunisia, Cyprus, Turkey,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Russian Caucasia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and

, India. Scortecci (1929) also reported this species from Yemen. The type locality originally given was ''"Oriente"''.

Mertens __NOTOC__ Mertens () is a surname of Flemish Origin, meaning "son of Merten" (Martin). It is the fifth most common name in Belgium with 18,518 people in 2008. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 43.4% of all known bearers of the surname ''Merte ...

and L. Müller (1928) suggested restricting the range to ''"Cypern"'' (= Cyprus).

Conservation status

Lebetine vipers are endangered. The species is listed as strictly protected (Appendix II) under the Berne Convention.Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Appendix II
a
Council of Europe
Accessed 9 October 2006.

References

, Burton JA. 1978. ''A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe''. London: Collins. 272 pp. . (''Vipera lebetina'', p. 224 + Plate 40 + map on p. 113). * Boulenger GA. 1887. List of reptiles and batrachians from Cyprus. ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'' (5) 20: 344-345. * Boulenger GA. 1890. ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia.'' London: Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor & Francis, printers). xviii + 541 pp. (''Vipera lebetina'', p. 421). * 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). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. (''Vipera lebetina'', pp. 487–490). * Engelmann W-E, Fritzsche J, Günther R, Obst FJ. 1993. ''Lurche und Kriechtiere Europas''. Radebeul, Germany: Neumann Verlag. 440 pp. (including 324 color plates, 186 figures, 205 maps). * 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 Herpetological Data Center. 478 pp. * Gray JE. 1849. ''Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). xv + 125 pp. (''"Daboia Euphratica"'', pp. 116–117). * Herrmann H-W, Joger U, Lenk P, Wink M. 1999. Morphological and molecular phylogenies of viperines: conflicting evidence? ''Kaupia (Darmstadt)'' (8): 21-30. * Herrmann H-W, Joger U, Nilson G. 1992. Phylogeny and systematics of viperine snakes. III. Resurrection of the genus ''Macrovipera'' Reuss, 1927, as suggested by biochemical evidence. ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 13 (4): 375-392. * Linnaeus C. 1758. ''Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, diferentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata.'' Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (''Coluber lebetinus'', p. 218). * Mertens R, Müller L. 1928. ''Liste der Amphibien und Reptilian Europas. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft (Frankfurt am Main)'' 41: 1-62. * Obst FJ. 1983. ''Zur Kenntnis der Schlangengattung'' Vipera. ''Zool. Abh. staatl. Mus. Tierkunde (Dresden)'' 38: 229-235.