:''Common names: meadow viper, Ursini's viper, Mallow D,

Ludwig D Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and c ...

, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . meadow adder,Brown, John Haynes (1973). ''Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes''. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. . (

more More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka S ...

).'' ''Vipera ursinii'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

venomous snake Venomous snakes are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow or g ...

in the subfamily

Viperinae The Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of vipers endemic to Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the subfamily Crotalinae. Currently, 13 gen ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Viperidae 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 th ...

. It is a very rare species, which is in danger of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

. This species is commonly called the meadow viper. It is found in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

as well as much of

eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

. Several subspecies are recognized. Beyond the highly threatened European population, poorly known populations exist as far to the east as

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and northwestern China.

Etymology

The specific name or epithet, ''ursinii'', is in honor of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

naturalist

Antonio Orsini Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

(1788–1870).

Description

Adults of ''V. ursini'' average in total length (including tail), although specimens of in total length have been reported. Females are larger than males. Although sometimes confused with '' V. aspis'' or '' V. berus'', it differs from them in the following characters. The smallest viper in Europe, its body is thick, its head narrow, and its appearance rough. The snout is not upturned. There are always several large scales or plates on the top of the head. The prominently keeled dorsal scales are in only 19 rows, and often dark skin shows between them. It is gray, tan, or yellowish with a dark undulating dorsal stripe, which is edged with black.

Common names

Meadow viper, Ursini's viper, meadow adder, Orsini's viper, field viper, Steward JW (1971). ''The Snakes of Europe''. Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated University Press (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press). . field adder. Hellmich W (1962). ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Europe''. London: Blandford Press. ''Translated from'' Winter C (1956). ''Die Lurche und Kriechtiere Europas''. Heidelberg, Germany: Universitatsverlag, gegr. 1822, GmbH. Although the following subspecies are currently invalid according to the taxonomy used here, their common names may still be encountered: * ''V. u. ursinii'' – Italian meadow viper. * ''V. u. macrops'' – karst viper, karst adder. * ''V. u. rakosiensis'' – Danubian meadow viper. * ''V. renardi'' – steppe viper, steppe adder, Renard's viper. * ''V. u. moldavica'' – Moldavian meadow viper.

Geographic range

Southeastern

, eastern

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(extinct),

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, central

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, northern and northeastern

Republic of Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Europ ...

, North Macedonia, Albania, Romania, northern Bulgaria,

, Turkey, northwestern Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, Russia and across

, Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan steppes to China (Xinjiang). ''Vipera ursinii rakosiensis'' is native to

Leírás
Fertő-Hanság Nemzeti Park (Fertő-Hansag National Park of Hungary) although the taxonomic status of this subspecies is disputed (see section "Taxonomy") The Type locality (biology), type locality is " ...''monti dell'Abruzzo prossimi alla provincia d'Ascoli''... " (...mountains of Abruzzo near the Province of Ascoli Piceno,

...).

Conservation status

The species ''Vipera ursinii'' is considered to be a Vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, due to habitat destruction caused by changes in agricultural practices and climate change in mountain areas, and to collection for the pet trade. In addition, this species is listed on CITES Appendix I, which prohibits commercial international trade,''Vipera ursinii''
a
CITES
an
United Nations Environment Programme / World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Accessed 8 October 2006. and is a strictly protected species (Appendix II) under the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Berne Convention.Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Appendix II
a
Council of Europe
Accessed 9 October 2006. ''V. ursinii'' is the most threatened snake in Europe. At least 12 human activities are threatening these animals: 1. Grazing 2. Mowing 3. Fire 4. Agriculture 5. Roads 6. Constructions 7. Leisure Activities 8. Afforestation 9. Cynegetic species management 10. Persecution 11. Illegal collection 12. Littering

Taxonomy

There is high genetic diversity within samples of ''Vipera ursinii'' and several species may be involved. At least six subspecies may be encountered in modern literature: * ''Vipera ursinii ursinii'' (Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Bonaparte, 1835) * ''Vipera ursinii eriwanensis'' (:fr:Albert Franz Theodor Reuss, A.F. Reuss, 1933) * ''Vipera ursinii graeca'' species:Göran Nilson, Nilson & species:Claes Andrén, Andrén, 1988 * ''Vipera ursinii macrops'' Lajos Méhelÿ, Méhelÿ, 1911 * ''Vipera ursinii moldavica'' Nilson, Andrén & species:Ulrich Joger, Joger, 1993 * ''Vipera ursinii rakosiensis'' Méhely, 1893 * ''Vipera ursinii renardi'' Hugo Theodor Christoph, Christoph, 1861 species:Philippe Golay, Golay et al. (1993) recognize the first four, while species:David Mallow, Mallow et al. (2003) recognize five and list ''V. eriwanensis'' and ''V. renardi'' as valid species. However, species:Roy Wallace McDiarmid, McDiarmid et al. (1999), and thus ITIS, feel that more definitive data is necessary before any subspecies can be recognized.

Etymology

Description

Common names

Geographic range

Conservation status

Taxonomy

Notes

References

Further reading

External links