Common names: Nikolsky's adder, forest-steppe adder.[3]
Vipera nikolskii is a species of venomous snake in the subfamilyViperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to Ukraine, eastern Romania, and southwestern Russia.[1][4] No subspecies are recognized as being valid.[5]
Adults of Vipera nikolskii are short and thick-bodied, growing to a maximum total length (including tail) of 680 mm (27 in).[3]
Holotype: ZDKU 14704, according to Golay et al. (1993).[1]
Geographic distribution
Vipera nikolskii is spread in Central Ukraine and southwestern Russia.[1][4] Mallow et al. (2003) mention that the distribution is concentrated in the forest-steppe zone of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine.[3]
The type locality, according to Golay et al. (1993), is the banks of the Uda River, between Besljudovka and Vasishtshevo, near Kharkiv.[1]
References
↑ 1.01.11.21.31.4McDiarmid 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. ISBN1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN1-893777-01-4 (volume).
↑ 3.03.13.2Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN0-89464-877-2.
↑Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Vipera nikolskii, p. 190).
Further reading
Golay P, Smith HM, Broadley DG, Dixon JR, McCarthy CJ, Rage J-, Schätti B, Toriba M (1993). Endoglyphs and Other Major Venomous Snakes of the World. A Checklist. Geneva: Azemiops. ISBN2-940077-00-2. 478 pp.
Strugariu, Alexandru; Zamfirescu, Ştefan Remus; Nicoară, Andreea; Gherghel, Iulian; Sas-Kovacs, Istvan; Pușcașu, Cristina M.; Bugeac, Teodor (2008). "Preliminary data regarding the distribution of the herpetofauna in Iași County (Romania)". North-Western Journal of Zoology4 (Supplement 1): S1–S23.
Vedmederja VI, Grubant VN, Rudajewa AV (1986). ["On the taxonomy of the three viper species in the Vipera kaznakowi complex"]. In:Ananjeva N, Borkin L (editors). "Systematics and Ecology of Amphibians and Reptiles". Proceedings of the Zoological Institute, Leningrad157: 55–61. (Vipera nikolskii, new species). (in Russian).
Zinenko, Oleksandr; Țurcanu, Vladimir; Strugariu, Alexandru (2010). "Distribution and morphological variation of Vipera berus nikolskii Vedmederja, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986 in Western Ukraine, The Republic of Moldova and Romania". Amphibia-Reptilia31 (1): 51–67.