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Vipera transcaucasiana BOULENGER, 1913

IUCN Red List - Vipera transcaucasiana - Near Threatened, NT
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Viperinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymVipera ammodytes transcaucasiana BOULENGER 1913: 283
Coluber ammodytes LINNAEUS 1758
Vipera ammodytes LINNAEUS 1766
Vipera (Rhinaspis) transcaucasiana — OBST 1983
Vipera pontica BILLING, NILSON & SATTLER 1990 (part.)
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — BILLING et al. 1990
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — ENGELMANN et al 1993
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — WELCH 1994: 119
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — KUTRUP 1999
Vipera transcaucasiana — NILSON et al. 1999
Vipera ammodytes — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 391
Vipera transcaucasiana — KUCHARZEWSKI 2011
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — GÖÇMEN et al. 2014
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — MULDER 2017
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — HEMPEL et al. 2018
Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana — KRECSÁK et al. 2025 
DistributionRepublic of Georgia, NW Azerbaijan, N Turkey

Type locality: "Borzom, in the district Gori, Prov.Tiflis” [Borzom, Republic of Georgia].  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesSyntype: BMNH 1913.10.30.1. and probably two in the Tiflis Museum. 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1584 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana is considered as a valid species by several authors (like JOGER, pers. comm., Nilson et al. 1999), but not by others (e.g. BARAN 1998, DAVID et al. 1999, GÖÇMEN et al. 2014, WALLACH et al. 2014: 786). V. pontica is a hybrid between sympatric V. kaznakovi and V. transcaucasiana (see V. kaznakovi). We follow recent authors in considering it as a subspecies of ammodytes.

Distribution: not in the Middle East (Iran) fide IUCN assessment. 
EtymologyNamed after the Transcaucasus (= Southern Caucasus), a region covering the type locality in Georgia. 
References
  • Billing H; Nilson G; Sattler U 1990. Vipera pontica sp. n., a new viper species in the kaznakovi group (Reptilia, Viperidae) from northeastern Turkey and adjacent Transcaucasia. Zoologica Scripta 19 (2): 227-231 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G. A. 1913. On the geographical races of Vipera ammodytes. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8) 11: 283-287 - get paper here
  • Cundall, D. 2009. Viper Fangs: Functional Limitations of Extreme Teeth. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology: Ecological and Evolutionary Approaches, 82(1), 63–79 - get paper here
  • ÇAKMAK, Mücahit; Bahadır AKMAN and Mehmet Zülfü YILDIZ 2018. HERPETOFAUNA OF BARTIN PROVINCE (NORTHWEST BLACKSEA REGION, TURKEY). South Western Journal of Horticulture, Biology and Environment P-Issn: 2067- 9874, E-Issn: 2068-7958<br />Vol.8, No.2, 2017 pp.89-102 - get paper here
  • Dunaev E.A., Orlova V.F. 2003. Diversity of snakes (on the materials of the exposition of the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University). Moscow: Moscow State University Press, 376 pp
  • Engelmann, W.E. et al. 1993. Lurche und Kriechtiere Europas. Neumann Verlag (Radebeul, Germany), 440 pp.
  • Kabisch, Klaus 2013. Legende oder Wahrheit? Giftschlangen – eine biologische Waffe Hannibals Sekretär 13 (1): - get paper here
  • Krecsák, L., A. M. Bauer, L. Tomovic, S. Schweiger & A. Westerström 2025. The history of the Illyrian Nose-horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes illyrica (Laurenti, 1768), with designation of a neotype. Salamandra 61 (2): 184-194 - get paper here
  • KUCHARZEWSKI, C 2011. OLD WORLD VIPERS. A natural history of the Azemiopinae and Viperinae von Tony PHELPS – Anmerkungen, Ergänzungen, Korrekturen. Sauria 33 (3): 19-42 - get paper here
  • Kutrup, B. 1999. The Morphology of Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana (Reptilia, Viperidae) Specimens Collected from Murgul (Artvin, Turkey). Tr. J. of Zoology 23: 433–438
  • Linnaeus, C. [= Linné, C. von] 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiæ. 10th Edition: 824 pp. - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Mebert, Konrad; Nasit Igci, Bayram Göçmen & Sylvain Ursenbacher 2014. Vipern der Nordost-Türkei: Genfluss und Umweltfaktoren zwischen den Taxa des Vipera-barani-kaznakovi-darevskii-Komplexes. Terraria-Elaphe 2014 (5): 58-67 - get paper here
  • Mulder, John 2017. A review of the distribution of Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana Boulenger, 1913 (Serpentes: Viperidae) in Turkey. Biharean Biologist 2017: e161305 - get paper here
  • Nilson, G., Andren, C., & Flärdh, B. 1988. Die Vipern der Türkei. Salamandra 24 (4): 215-247 - get paper here
  • Nilson,G.; TUNIYEV,B.; ANDRÉN,C. & ORLOV,N. 1999. Vipers of Caucasus: Taxonomic considerations. Kaupia (Darmstadt) (8): 103-106
  • Obst, F.J. 1983. Zur Kenntnis der Schlangengattung Vipera. Zool. Abh. staatl. Mus. Tierkunde Dresden 38: 229-235
  • Phelps, T. 2010. Old World Vipers. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, 558 pp. [critical review in Sauria 33 (3): 19 and HR 43: 503]
  • Tok, C. V. & Y. Kumlutaş 1996. On Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana (Viperidae) from Perşembe, Black Sea region of Turkey. Zoology in the Middle East 13: 47 - get paper here
  • Tuniyev B.S., Tuniyev S.B., Avcı A., Ilgaz Ç. 2014. Herpetological studies in Eastern and North-Eastern Turkey. Current Studies in Herpetology 14 (1/2): 44–53. Резюме - get paper here
  • Tuniyev, B.S.; N.L. Orlov, N.B. Ananjeva and A.L. Aghasyan 2019. Snakes of the Caucasus: taxonomic diversity, distribution, conservation. St. Petersburg, Moscow. KMK Scientific Press. 2019. 276 pp. - get paper here
  • Weima, André 2007. Pictures: Vipera transcaucasiana en Agkistrodon contortrix. Litteratura Serpentium 27 (2): 74 - get paper here
  • Weima, André 2008. Picture: Vipera transcaucasiana. Litteratura Serpentium 28 (1): 63 - get paper here
  • Weima, André 2009. Pictures: Vipera transcaucasiana. Litteratura Serpentium 29 (1): 17 - get paper here
 
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