The Lebanon viper (''Montivipera bornmuelleri''), also known as Bornmueller's 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. . is a species of venomous snake in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to Western Asia. www.reptile-database.org. There are no recognized

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 ...

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''bornmuelleri'', is in honor of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Joseph Friedrich Nicolaus Bornmüller Joseph Friedrich Nicolaus Bornmüller (February 6, 1862 – December 19, 1948) was a German botanist born in Hildburghausen, Thuringia. Biography He studied horticulture in Potsdam, and in 1886 traveled to the Balkans and Greece on his first bo ...

Description

''M. bornmuelleri'' grows to a maximum total length (including tail) of about , but usually much less. Males tend to be larger than females in some populations. In specimens from

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

, the maximum total lengths were for females and for males. The tail accounts for about 7–10% of the total length.

Geographic range and habitat

''M. bornmuelleri'' is found in high mountain areas in Israel, Lebanon, and

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 ...

. Its preferred natural habitats are cedar forest,

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

, and alpine grassland.

Reproduction

''M. bornmuelleri'' is viviparous.

Taxonomy

The original syntypes of ''M. bornmuelleri'' were collected in Lebanon at 1800 m (5,900 ft) and in the Bolkar mountains of western Turkey at 2200 m (7,200 ft) as described by

Franz Werner Franz Josef Maria Werner (15 August 1867 in Vienna – 28 February 1939 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist and explorer. Specializing as a herpetologist and entomologist, Werner described numerous species and other taxa of frogs, snakes, inse ...

in 1898.Nilson, Göran; Andrén, Claes (1985). "Systematics of the ''Vipera xanthina'' Complex (Reptilia: Viperidae). III. Taxonomic Status of the Bulgar Dagh Viper in South Turkey". ''Journal of Herpetology'' 19 (2): 276–283. (p. 276.) In 1922, Werner restricted the type locality to Lebanon in his designation of his specimen as a lectotype, and in 1938 separated out the southern varieties as a separate species ('' Daboia palaestinae''). In 1967

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 ...

raised the name ''bornmuelleri'' to valid species rank for the Lebanese populations, thus leaving the name ''xanthina'' for all Turkish populations, which arrangement was accepted by Baran in 1976, Baran İ (1976). "''Tiirkiye yilanlarinin taksonomik revizyonu ve cografi dagilislari'' ". ''TBTAK Yayinlari, Ankara, T.B.A.G.'' Series 9, (309): 177. (in Turkish). and agreed with by Nilson and Andrén in their 1985 paper.

Conservation status

The species ''M. bornmuelleri'' is classified as Endangered (EN) according to the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Red List of Threatened Species with the following criteria: B1ab(iii) (v3.1, 2001). This indicates that it is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild because the extent of its occurrence within its geographic range is estimated to be less than 5,000 km² (1,931 sq mi), because its populations are severely fragmented or known to exist at no more than 5 locations, and because a continued decline is observed, inferred or projected in the area, extent and/or quality of its habitat.