Ottoman viper

''Montivipera xanthina'', known as the rock viper, coastal viper, Ottoman viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . and by other common names, is a viper species found in northeastern Greece and Turkey, as well as certain islands in the Aegean Sea. Like all other vipers, it is venomous. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Description

Dorsally, it is grey or white with a black zig-zag stripe. Melanistic individuals exist. It has keeled dorsal scales.

It usually grows to a total length (body + tail) of 70–95 cm (27.6-37.4 in), but reaches a maximum total length of 130 cm (51.2 in) on certain Greece, Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

Behavior

Very aggressive, this snake will strike without provoking, and most bites inject venom.

Habitat

''Montivipera xanthina'' can be found living in humid areas.Mark O'Shea (herpetologist), O'Shea, M. 2008. ''Venomous Snakes of the World''. London: New Holland Publishers Ltd. 160 pp. . (''Vipera xanthina'', p. 58.) It favors rocky and "well-vegetated" areas for its habitat.

Prey

The diet of ''M. xanthina'' is thought to consist of rodents and other small mammals and native birds. It may Predation, prey on lizards, as well.

Common names

Rock viper, coastal viper, Ottoman viper, Turkish viper, Near East viper, mountain viper.Gotch AF. 1986. ''Reptiles -- Their Latin Names Explained''. Poole, UK: Blandford Press. 176 pp. .

Geographic range

Extreme northeastern Greece, the Greek islands of Symi, Simi, Skiathos, Kos, Kalimnos, Samothraki, Leros, Leipsoi, Lipsos, Patmos, Samos Island, Samos, Chios and Lesbos, Eastern Thrace, European Turkey, the western half of Anatolia (inland eastward to Kayseri), and islands (e.g. Chalki) of the Turkish mainland shelf.

The Type locality (biology), type locality given is "Xanthus" [southwestern Turkey (Kınık)], and "Asia Minor." Listed as "Xanthos" by Schwarz (1936). Nilson and Andrén (1986) restricted the species to "Xanthos" [= Xanthus] (Kınık) Muğla Province, province Mugla, S. W. Turkish Anatolia" through lectotype designation.

Conservation status

This species is classified as least concern according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed as such due to its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
It is, however, listed as strictly protected (Appendix II) under the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Berne Convention.Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Appendix II
a
Council of Europe
Accessed 9 October 2006.

Taxonomy

According to Nilson, Andrén and Flärdh (1990), ''Montivipera bornmuelleri, M. bornmuelleri'', ''Montivipera bulgardaghica, M. bulgardaghica'', ''Montivipera wagneri, M. wagneri'' and ''M. xanthina'' are all closely related and together form the ''Montivipera xanthina'' group or complex.

Venom

There's not much information and data about the venom composition, activity, and lethality of this specific species. However, similar to other species within the genus ''Montivipera'' and the related ''Vipera'' genus, it has mainly Cytotoxicity, cytotoxic, Hemotoxin, haemotoxic, and other minor components to its venom. Although it injects only small amounts of venom in a bite, the venom of this species is highly potent and has been known to have caused fatalities in adult humans. This can be more common in young children or older individuals that get a case of severe envenomation (especially if fangs inject venom directly into a vein, for instance).

According to ''Batzri-Izraeli et al, 1982'', the value via Intravenous therapy, intravenous injection (IV) was 0.25 mg/kg. Similarly, Iranian herpetologist :de:Mahmoud Latifi, Mahmoud Latifi found the lethality () of the crude venom from the species ''Montivipera xanthina'' to be 0.42 mg/kg in a 1984 study, and 0.35 mg/kg in a 1985 study, which Latifi conducted for the Department of the Environment in Iran (was translated to English in 1991). For most adult male humans of , the estimated lethal dose is thought to be between 40-50 mg. In his 1984 study, Latifi found the average venom yield to be 10 mg (dry weight of milked venom). This average was attained from the milking of 4,446 specimens of ''M. xanthina''. The maximum yield was 18 mg (dry weight of milked venom) in the same study.

Further reading

*:fr:Edwin Nicholas Arnold, Arnold, EN, Burton JA. 1978. ''A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe''. London: Collins. 272 pp. . (''Vipera xanthina'', p. 223 + Plate 40 + Map 126.)
*John Edward Gray, Gray JE. 1849. ''Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer.) xv + 125 pp. (''Daboia Xanthina'', p. 24.)
*Nilson G, Andrén C. 1986. The mountain vipers of the Middle East: The ''Vipera xanthina'' complex. ''Bonner Zoologische Monographien'' 20: 1-90.
*Nilson G, Andrén C, and Flärdh B. 1990. ''Vipera albizona'' a new mountain viper from central Turkey, with comments on the isolating effects of the Anatolian "diagonal." ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' 11: 285-294.
*Ernst Schwarz (zoologist), Schwarz E. 1936. ''Untersuchungen über Systematik und Verbreitung der europäischen und mediterranen Ottern. Behringwerke-Mitteilungen'' 7: 159-262.

External links

*

''Montivipera xanthina''
a
Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe
Accessed 18 January 2010.

{{Taxonbar, from=Q641092

Montivipera, xanthina
Reptiles of Europe
Reptiles of Turkey
Reptiles described in 1849
Taxa named by John Edward Gray