The Moorish viper (''Daboia mauritanica'' or ''Macrovipera mauritanica''; common names: Moorish viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 359 pp. . Sahara rock viper,U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. . Atlas blunt-nosed viper,Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. .

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) is a

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...

viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs th ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

found in northwestern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Description

Reaches a maximum length of 180 cm.Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. .

Common names

Moorish viper, Sahara rock viper, Atlas blunt-nosed viper, Atlas adder,Brown JH. 1973. Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. . mountain adder.

Geographic range

Northwestern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

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and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. The

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

is "Algiers", according to Gray (1842), "Algeria" according to Schwarz (1936). Limited to the coastal regions of Algeria. Coastal records from Tunisia may refer to '' M. deserti''.

Conservation status

This species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001). Classified as such because this species is likely in significant decline (but at a rate of less than 30% over ten years) due to persecution, accidental mortality and

over-harvesting Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...

, therefore making it close to qualifying for Vulnerable. The population trend is down. Year assessed: 2005.

Taxonomy

Based on molecular evidence, Lenk et al. (2001) suggested that this species, along with '' M. deserti'', should rather be included in the genus ''

Daboia ''Daboia'' is a genus of venomous vipers.. Species The following four species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species ...

''.

References

External links

* * . Accessed 9 September 2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q222401 Daboia Snakes of Africa Reptiles of North Africa Reptiles described in 1848 Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril