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Vipera kaznakovi NIKOLSKY, 1909

IUCN Red List - Vipera kaznakovi - Endangered, EN
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Caucasus Viper
E: Magnificent (or Relic) viper [magnifica]
G: Kaukasusotter
Russian: Кавказская гадюка, или Гадюка Казнакова
Russian: Великолепная гадюка [magnifica] 
SynonymVipera kaznakovi NIKOLSKY 1909: 174
Vipera kaznakowi var. prester — WERNER 1924: 46
Vipera berus var. ornata BASOGLU 1947
Vipera kaznakovi — KRAMER 1961:703 (part.)
Vipera pontica BILLING, NILSON & SATTLER 1990
Vipera pontica — ENGELMANN et al 1993
Vipera pontica — WELCH 1994: 123
Vipera kaznakovi — WELCH 1994: 121
Vipera (Pelias) kaznakovi — NILSON et al. 1999: 103
Vipera kaznakovi — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 405
Vipera pontica — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 407
Vipera magnified [sic] TUNIYEV & OSTROVSKIKH 2001: 123 (in error)
Vipera magnifica TUNIYEV & OSTROVSKIKH 2001
Vipera kasnakovi [sic] — GARRIGUES et al. 2005
Vipera (Pelias) kaznakovi — VENCHI & SINDACO 2006
Pelias pontica — TUNIYEV et al. 2012
Pelias magnifica — TUNIYEV et al. 2012
Pelias magnifica — WALLACH et al. 2014: 544
Pelias pontica — WALLACH et al. 2014: 544
Pelias kaznakovi — WALLACH et al. 2014: 544
Pelias kaznakovi — TUNIYEV 2016
Pelias magnifica — TUNIYEV 2016
Pelias magnifica— DUNAEV & ORLOVA 2017
Pelias kaznakovi— DUNAEV & ORLOVA 2017
Pelias magnifica — TUNIYEV et al. 2019: 149
Pelias pontica — TUNIYEV et al. 2019: 156 
DistributionS Russia, W Republic of Georgia, NE Turkey. Elevation up to 3000 m.

Type locality: Tsebel’da, Sukhumi district, Republic of Georgia

magnifica: Russia (W Caucasus), elevation 700-1200 m; Type locality: Shakh-ghireevskoye Gorge, the Malaya Laba River, Krasno-darskii region, Russia.

pontica: Turkey, Republic of Georgia; Type locality: Coruh Valley, Artvin Province, NE Turkey  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesLectotype: ZMT 4408, designated by Orlov and Tuniyev, 1990: 6. Syntypes (5), according to Nikolsky (1916:246) as seen in the English translation.
Holotype: SNP (given as SDCSNBR 541), adult male, (Scientific Department, Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Sochi), June 24, 1998, coll. B. S. Tuniyev [magnifica]
Holotype: GNM (Göteborg Natural History Museum) [pontica] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (magnifica). A small viper of the Eurosiberian group. Coloration is not bright. Number of ventral shields and number of crown shields are the biggest for all representatives of "kaznakovi" complex.


Additional details (198 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: partly after KHALIKOV & ANANJEVA (pers. comm.); V. pontica is of doubtful validity (U. Joger in MCDIARMID et al. 1999, Freitas et al. 2020). May be placed in the synonymy of V. barani (fide BARAN 2001). Only known from two specimens, pontica represents a hybrid between sympatric V. kaznakovi and V. transcaucasiana (Baran et al., 2001; Mebert et al., 2015, Freitas et al. 2020, Dufresnes et al. 2024). The status of kaznakovi itself is unclear and “pending” fide Freitas et al. 2020. TUNIYEV & OSTROVSKIKH 2001 actually say “Vipera magnified” and later “Vipera magnifica”. Zinenko et al. 2016 synonymized magnifica with kaznakovi.

History: Nikolsky published a preliminary description that is dated 1908 (p. 174) but it’s in volume IV of 1909. He then published a “final” description in 1910 which is more detailed (in volume V, pp. 81 ff; M. Schweiger, pers. comm., 8 June 2017).

Distribution: For a map see Sindaco et al. 2013.

NCBI taxonID: 3135135 [pontica] 
EtymologyNamed after Aleksandr N. Kaznakov, a Russian naturalist and Director of the Caucasus Museum.

V. pontica was named after the type locality in the Pontic mountain chain. 
References
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  • Baran, I.; Tok, C.V.; Olgun, K.; Iret, F. & Avci, Z. 2005. On Viperid (Serpentes: Sauria) Specimens Collected from Northeastern Anatolia. Turkish Journal of Zoology 29: 225-228 - get paper here
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