Cerastes gasperettii

Cerastes gasperettii, also known commonly as the Arabian horned viper and Gasperetti's horned viper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to the Arabian Peninsula[2] and north to Israel, Iraq, and Iran. It is very similar in appearance to C. cerastes, but the geographic ranges of these two species do not overlap.[5] No subspecies of C. gasperettii are recognized.[6]

Cerastes gasperettii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Cerastes
Species:
C. gasperettii
Binomial name
Cerastes gasperettii
Synonyms[2]
  • Cerastes cerastes gasperettii
    Leviton & S. Anderson, 1967
  • Cerastes cerastes gasperetti
    — Farag & Banaja, 1980
  • Cerastes gasperettii
    — Y. Werner, 1987
  • Cerastes gasperettii
    — Y. Werner, Le Verdier, Rosenman & Sivan, 1991
  • Cerastes gasperettii
    — Schätti & Gasperetti, 1994
Common names: Arabian horned viper, desert horned viper,[3] Middle Eastern horned viper.[4]

Etymology

The specific name, gasperettii, is in honor of John Gasperetti, an American surveyor, engineer, and herpetologist, who collected the holotype specimen.[7][8]

Description

The average total length (including tail) of C. gasperettii is 30–60 cm (12–24 in), with a maximum total length of 85 cm (33 in). Females are usually larger than males.[3]

Diet

The diet of C. gasperettii is thought to primarily consist of rodents, with insects, particularly beetles, and lizards making up a less significant component of its diet.[9]

Reproduction

C. gasperettii is oviparous.[1][10]

Geographic range

In the Arabian Peninsula C. gasperettii has been found in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is found in the Arava valley, located on the border between southern Israel and Jordan, eastwards through Jordan and Iraq to Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran.[1]

The type locality given is "Beda Azan [23°41'N., 53°28'E.], Abu Dhabi [Abū Zaby]" [United Arab Emirates].[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. gasperetti are desert and shrubland, at altitudes up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).[1]

References
  1. Egan, D.M.; Amr, Z.S.S.; Al Johany, A.M.H.; Els, J.; Papenfuss, T.; Nilson, G.; Sadek, R.; Disi, A.M.; Hraoui-Bloquet, S.; Werner, Y.L.; Anderson, S. (2012). "Cerastes gasperettii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T164599A1060588. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T164599A1060588.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 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).
  3. 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.
  4. Mehrtens JM (1987). Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
  5. Spawls S, Branch B (1995) The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Dubai: Ralph Curtis Books. Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
  6. "Cerastes gasperettii ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
  7. Werner YL (2002). "Middle Eastern herpetology loses John Gasperetti, 1920-2001". Zoology in the Middle East 27: 5-6.
  8. 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. (Cerastes gasperettii, pp. 98-99).
  9. Al-Sadoon, Mohammad K.; Paray, Bilal Ahmad (20 October 2015). "Ecological aspects of the horned viper, Cerastes cerastes gasperettii in the central region of Saudi Arabia". Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 23 (1): 135–138. doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.10.010. ISSN 1319-562X. PMC 4705254. PMID 26858550.
  10. Species Cerastes gasperettii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading
  • Farag AA, Banaja A (1980). "Amphibians and Reptiles from the western region of Saudi Arabia". Bulletin of the Faculty of Sciences of King Aziz University, Riyad 4: 5-29.
  • Joger U (1984). The Venomous Snakes of the Near and Middle East. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. 175 pp. ISBN 3-88226-199-4.
  • Leviton AE, Anderson SC (1967). "Survey of the reptiles of the Sheikdom of Abu Dhabi, Arabian Peninsula. Part II. Systematic account of the collection of reptiles made in the Sheikdom of Abu Dhabi by John Gasperetti". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 35: 157-192, 12 figures, 8 tables. (Cerastes cerastes gasperettii, new subspecies, pp. 183–186, Figure 12, Table 5).
  • Werner YL, Le Verdier A, Rosenman D, Sivan N (1991). "Systematics and zoogeography of Cerastes (Ophidia: Viperidae) in the Levant: 1. Distinguishing Arabian from African “Cerastes cerastes” ". The Snake 23: 90-100.



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