Macrovipera lebetinus, Blunt-nosed viper, Lebetine Viper, Levant viper, Levantine viper, Levantine adder, Kufi viper (from Arabic),
Blunt-nosed viper |
Macrovipera lebetinus Linnaeus, 1758
Macrovipera lebetinus is one among the venomous
viper species found in moderate climate, under Viperidae family of snakes.
Numerous common names of the species has been there as of its range such as
Blunt nosed viper; Lebetine Viper; Levant viper; Levantine viper; Levantine
adder; Kufi viper (from Arabic); gjurza (from Russian); Gunas (Jammu &
Kashmir) and Mountain Viper. It is a large sized serpent in vipers having
cylindrical and stout body with short tail which tapers towards end. Females of
the species can reach up to 5 feet while their counter parts are little short
of them. Currently there are five subspecies are recognized under
Macrovipera genus; such as, M. l. cernovi, Chikin & Szczerbak,
1992; M. l. lebetina. Linnaeus, 1758 (Cypriot blunt-nosed viper); M.
l. obtusa, Dwigubsky, 1832 (Levant blunt-nosed viper); M. l.
transmediterranea, Nilson & Andrén, 1988; M. l. turanica Chernov,
1940 (Turan blunt-nosed viper)
Head in this species is broad, triangular, somewhat
like pear shaped on dorsal view and distinct from neck. Snout is somewhat
rounded and blunt. The nasal and nasorostral scales are
fused into a single plate with some variations. Nostrils are located on lateral
sides. Eyes are medium sized having vertically ovate pupils. Dorsal scales (23-25/23-27/19)
are strongly keeled excluding the margins guarding the ventral. Ventral scales are 146-163; anal single.
It as an oviparous species
Dorsally the color of the body
can be brown, gray, light pinkish, or somewhat olive. The pattern, if present
may be darker as it varies along its range; it may be bluish, brown, rust, or
gray in color and may bear a row of large spots. If two rows are there than the
spots may oppose or be alternate, produce an unceasing zigzag pattern. The
spots observed are usually dark gray, brown or black, but sometimes may it be brick
red, yellow, or olive.
It is can be sighted resting under short trees with thick shade and shady shrubs when temperature is high; though it prefers dry and rocky regions; nocturnal and terrestrial snake which feed mainly on small mammals, lizards and birds also.
The species is distributed and reported from
Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, India
Algeria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Cyprus, Israel, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon,
Syria, Iran, Russian Caucasia, Armenia, Georgia, Pakistan,
and Yemen
Scientific
classification |
|
Kingdom: |
Animalia |
Phylum: |
Chordata |
Class: |
Reptilia |
Order: |
Squamata |
Suborder: |
Serpentes |
Family: |
Viperidae |
Genus: |
Macrovipera |
Species: |
lebetinus |
Binomial
name |
|
Macrovipera
lebetinus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Macrovipera lebetinus envenoming symptoms recorded are:
Local effects:
pain, severe swelling, bruising, blistering, necrosis.
Systemic effects:
headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dizziness, collapse or
convulsions.
Coagulopathy & Haemorrhages: Moderate to severe coagulopathy plus haemorrhagins, causing extensive bleeding, Shock to fluid shifts owing to local muscle injury.
Literature Cited:
Al-Oran, R., Rostum, S., Joger, U. and Amr, Z. 1998. First record of the Levantine Viper, Macrovipera lebetina, from Jordan. Zoology in the Middle East, 16: 65-70. - get paper here
Billing,
H. and Schätti, B. 1984. Vorläufige Mitteilung zum Subspezies-Problem bei
Vipera lebetina. Salamandra, 20 (2-3): 65-69 - get paper here
Boulenger,
G.A. 1887. List of reptiles and batrachians from Cyprus. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.,
(5) 20: 344-345 - get paper here
Boulenger,
G. A. 1888. Second list of reptiles and batrachians from Cyprus. Ann. Mag.
nat. Hist., (6) 2: 505-506 - get paper here
Boulenger, G.A. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London. - get paper here
Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the
Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. II. Taylor and Francis,
London.
Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, Vol., III. Taylor and Francis, London - get paper here
Clark, R.J. and Clark, E.D. 1973. Report on a collection of amphibians and reptiles from Turkey. Occ. Pap. Cal. Acad. Sci., (104): 62 pp. - get paper here
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N.L. and Cochrane, J.A. 1966. The snakes of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra. J.
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A., Zuhair, S. and Amr, N. H. 2014. Diversity, Threats, and Conservation of the
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Hellebuyck,
T. 2016. Picture: Milos viper (Macrovipera lebetina). Litteratura Serpentium,
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S., Sadek, R.A., Sindaco, R. and Venchi, A. 2002. The herpetofauna of Lebanon:
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Macrovipera
lebetinus
at reptile-database.reptarium.cz accessed on 2nd July 2020
Jestrzemski,
D. and Kuzyakova, I. 2018. Morphometric characteristics and seasonal proximity
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(Linnaeus, 1758). Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical
Diseases, 24:42 - get paper here
Jestrzemski,
D. 2015. Feldstudie zur zypriotischen Levanteotter (Macrovipera lebetina
lebetina). Terraria-Elaphe, (1): 54-57 - get paper here
Khan,
M.S. 1986. A noteworthy collection of Amphibians and reptiles from North-
Western Punjab, Pakistan. The Snake, 18: 118-125
Macrovipera_lebetinus at wikipedia.org accessed on 2nd July 2020
Manhas, A. 2017. Role of varying
climatic regimes on the Reptilian fauna under temperate and tropical
conditions. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Barkatullah University, Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh, India..
Manhas, A., Raina, R. and A. Wanganeo.
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L., Ayvazyan, N. and Calvete, J.J. 2008. Snake venomics of the Armenian
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Smith,
M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of
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18: 795-805 - get paper here
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Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue
of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press,
1237 pp.
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Image
credits Václav GvoždÃk at calphotos.berkeley.edu,
CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6816631
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