Vipera lotievi

Vipera lotievi, commonly known as the Caucasian meadow viper,[3] is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.[4]

Vipera lotievi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Vipera
Species:
V. lotievi
Binomial name
Vipera lotievi
Nilson, Tuniyev, Orlov, Höggren & Andrén, 1995
Synonyms
  • Vipera lotievi Nilson et al., 1995[1]
  • Vipera (Pelias) lotievi — Nilson et al., 1999
  • Vipera lotievi — McDiarmid, Campbell & Touré, 1999
  • Vipera renardi lotievi — Dely & Joger, 2005
  • Pelias lotievi — Wallach et al., 2014[2]

Etymology

The specific name, lotievi, is in honor of Russian herpetologist K. Yu Lotiev,[5] who collected the holotype and some of the paratypes.[6]

Description

Vipera lotievi may grow to a maximum total length (including tail) of 60 cm (24 in).[3]

Reproduction

Vipera lotievi is viviparous. [2]

Range

Vipera lotievi is found in the higher range of the Big Caucasus mountain range in Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.

The type locality is listed as "Armkhi, Checheno-Ingushetia, Russia, below Mt. Stolovaya, 2000 m altitude"[1] [Armkhi, Respublika Ingushetiya, Russia,[7] 6,600 ft].

References
  1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (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).
  2. "Vipera lotievi ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  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. "Vipera lotievi ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  5. 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. ("Lotiev", p. 161).
  6. Nilson, Tuniyev, et al. (1995). pp. 21-22.
  7. Google Earth.

Further reading
  • Nilson G, Höggren M, Tuniyev BS, Orlov NL, Andrén C (1994). "Phylogeny of the Vipers of the Caucasus (Reptilia, Viperidae)". Zoologica Scripta 23 (4): 353-360.
  • Nilson G, Tuniyev BS, Orlov N, Höggren M, Andrén C (1995). "Systematics of the Vipers of the Caucasus: Polymorphism or Sibling Species?" Asiatic Herpetological Research 6: 1-26. (Vipera lotievi, new species, pp. 21–24, Figure 22).
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