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Gloydius blomhoffii (BOIE, 1826)

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mamushi
G: Mamushi
Russian: Восточный щитомордник 
SynonymTrigonocephalus Blomhoffii BOIE 1826: 214
Trigonocephalus blomhoffi — SCHLEGEL 1837: 552
Trigonocephalus (Halys) affinis GRAY 1849: 14
Trigonocephalus Blomhoffii — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 1496
Trigonocephalus blomhoffi var. megaspilus — COPE 1859: 336
Halys bloomhoffi — PETERS 1862: 671 (in error)
Halys blomhoffi — GÜNTHER 1864: 393
Trigonocephalus Blomhoffii — STRAUCH 1868: 296
Ancistrodon blomhoffi — BOULENGER 1896: 525 (part.)
Halys blomhoffi — STONE 1899: 184
Agkistrodon blomhoffi STEJNEGER 1907: 457
Agkistrodon blomhoffii affinis — STEJNEGER 1907: 461
Ancistrodon halys blomhoffii NIKOLSKY 1916
Agkistrodon halys blomhoffii — MAKI 1931: 203
Ancistrodon halys blomhoffi — RENDAHL 1933: 21
Agkistrodon blomhoffi blomhoffi — HARDING & WELCH 1980
Gloydius blomhoffii blomhoffii — HOGE & ROMANO-HOGE 1981: 195
Agkistrodon blomhoffii — SCHNEEWEISS 1989
Agkistrodon blomhoffii — WELCH 1994: 11
Agkistrodon blomhoffii blomhoffii — WELCH 1994: 11
Agkistrodon blomhoffii blomhoffii — ORLOV & BARABANOV 1999
Gloydius blomhoffi — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 302
Gloydius blomhoffii — WALLACH et al. 2014: 309 
DistributionJapan (main islands, Sadogasbima, Izu Oshima, Hachijojima, Awajishima, Oki, Goto Archipelago, Amakusa, Mageshima, Tanegashima, Yakushima), Russia (Kunashir Island, Kuril Archipelago)

Type locality: Japan

megaspilus: Japan (?).  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMA.RENA 15179.
Holotype: ANSP 7254 [megaspilus]
Holotype: AMNH 21498 [dubitatus]
Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.20.1 (formerly BMNH i.7.2a) [affinis] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (662 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: Zhao 2006 listed Gloydius blomhoffii dubitatus and G. b. siniticus as synonyms of G. brevicaudus, hence he does not list blomhoffi as a Chinese species.

Subspecies: The subspecies “ussuriensis” has been elevated to full species status. For a distribution map of the subspecies and ussuriensis see TRUTNAU (2002). GUMPRECHT et al. (2004) recognized only 2 subspecies, blomhoffi and siniticus. G. b. brevicaudus has been elevated to full species status with siniticus as a subspecies.

Distribution: sometimes erroneously reported from Sakhalin island and Kunashir island (Kuril Archipelago) (Gloyd and Conant, 1990; Golay et al., 1993; David and Ineich, 1999), where it is absolutely absent (Orlov & Barabanov 1999). However, presence on Kunashir has been confirmed by Orlov et al. 2014. Populations from China and Korea have been assigned to G. brevicauda, hence not present in China (S Liaoning, Beijing area, C China west to Guizhou and Sichuan) anymore. For a map of localities see Shi et al. 2021: 102 (Fig. 6)

Diet: The diet of Gloydius blomhoffii on Kinkasan Island exclusively consisted of a frog, Rana tagoi, which is the only amphibian species inhabiting Kinkasan Island (Mori & Nagata 2016). 
EtymologyNamed after the collector, Blomhoff, who was also director of the Dutch factory on Decima for more than 10 years during the early part of the 19th century. 
References
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