Suborder Serpentes Subfamily Viperinae Higher classification Vipera Order Scaled reptiles | Subphylum Vertebrata Genus Vipera Phylum Chordata Rank Species | |
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Similar Vipera, Vipers, Snake, Vipera kaznakovi, Vipera lotievi | ||
Aspid river caucasian nature reserve vipera dinniki biotope
Vipera dinniki is a species of venomous viper endemic to the Caucasus Mountains region, part of Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Contents
- Aspid river caucasian nature reserve vipera dinniki biotope
- Vipera dinniki
- Etymology
- Description
- Geographic range
- Conservation status
- References
Vipera dinniki
Etymology
The specific name, dinniki, is in honor of Russian herpetologist Nikolai Yakovlevich Dinnik.
Description
Of the 49 Russian specimens examined by Orlov and Tuniyev (1990), 29 were males, and the largest male measured 41.2 cm (16.2 in) in total length (body + tail). Of the 20 females, the largest was 48.6 cm (19.1 in) in total length.
Geographic range
V. dinniki is found from Russia (Great Caucasus) and Georgia (high mountain basin of the Inguri River), eastward to Azerbaijan.
According to Nikolsky (1916), the type locality is "upper reaches of the Malaya Laba 8000 feet [2438 m] above sea level ... and Svanetia, 7000 feet [2134 m] above sea level." According to Nilson et al. (1995), Vedmederja et al. (1986) restricted the type locality to "Malaya Laba" through lectotype selection. Orlov and Tuniyev (1990) give the lectotype locality as "Upper reaches of the Mala (Small) Laba River, Northern Caucasus".
Conservation status
This species is classified as vulnerable according to the IUCN with the following criteria: B1ab(iii,v) (v3.1, 2009). This indicates, that the population occupies a severely fragmented area over a range of less than 20,000 km2. A continued decline in habitat size or quality and in population is expected.
