Gloydius intermedius

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Gloydius intermedius
Gloydius intermedius by Nick Longrich.jpg
In Gobi Desert, Mongolia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Gloydius
Species:
G. intermedius
Binomial name
Gloydius intermedius
(Strauch, 1868)
Synonyms
List
  • Trigonocephalus halys
    – Ménétries, 1832 (part)
  • Trigonocephalus blomhoffii
    – Maack, 1859 (part)
  • Trigonocephalus affinis
    – Günther, 1860 (part)
  • Trigonocephalus intermedius Strauch, 1868
  • Halys intermedius
    – W. Peters, 1877
  • Ancistrodon intermedius
    – Boulenger, 1896
  • Agkistrodon blomhoffii intermedius– Stejneger, 1907
  • Ancistrodon blomhoffii intermedius– Despax, 1913
  • Ancistrodon halys intermedius– Nikolski, 1916
  • Agkistrodon halys intermedius– Stejneger, 1925
  • Ankistrodon halys intermedius– Pavloff, 1926
  • Agkistrodon intermedius
    – F. Werner, 1929
  • Ancistrodon halys intermedius viridis
    – Pavloff, 1932
    (nomen illegitimum)
  • Gloydius halys intermedius
    – Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981
  • Agkistrodon intermedius intermedius
    – Gloyd & Conant, 1982
  • Gloydius intermedius
    – Kraus, Mink & W.M. Brown, 1996 [1]

Gloydius intermedius, or Central Asian pit viper, is a venomous species of pitviper endemic to northern Asia. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. [2]

Contents

Description

Gloyd and Conant (1990) reported examining subadults and adults of G. intermedius that were 33.5–71 cm (13.2–28.0 in) in total length. Nikolsky (1916) mentioned that some individuals may reach as much as 78 cm (30.5 in) in total length. The body is relatively stout, and the snout is not upturned. [3]

The scalation includes 7 supralabial scales, 23 rows of keeled dorsal scales at midbody, 149-165 ventral scales, and 32-48 subcaudal scales. [3]

The color pattern is variable, but generally consists of 28-45 dark subquadrate dorsal blotches or crossbands that usually extend down the flanks as far as the first or second scale rows. Between these blotches are irregular light areas. A dark brown to black postorbital stripe is present, extending from the eye back to the angle of the jaw, outlined by a light line above, and by cream-colored supralabial scales below. [3]

Common names

Common names for G. intermedius include Central Asian pit viper, intermediate mamushi, Mongolian pit viper, [3] Central Asian pitviper. [4] [3]

Geographic range

G. intermedius is found in southeastern Azerbaijan, northern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, northwestern Afghanistan, southern Russia, Korea, northwestern China and Mongolia. The type locality given by Stejneger (1907) is "Governm. Irkutsk, East Siberia." Golay et al. (1993) give "Yesso (= Esso) Island, banks of Amur River and Khinggan (= Hinggan Ling) Mountain Range." [1]

Subspecies

Subspecies [2] Taxon author [2] Common name [3] Geographic range [3]
G. i. caucasicus (Nikolsky, 1916)Caucasian pit viperMostly in the mountainous regions southwest, south and southeast of the Caspian Sea. Also in southeastern Azerbaijan, southern Turkmenistan, northern Iran and extreme northwestern Afghanistan. Elevational range is from below sea level (near the southern shore of the Caspian Sea) to at least 3,000 m in the high Lar Valley in the Elburz mountains of northern Iran.
G. i. intermedius(Strauch, 1868)Central Asian pit viper Central Asia from Kyrgyzstan, eastern Kazakhstan and Xinjiang (in China) to Mongolia and southern Siberia east to the western slopes of the Greater Khingan Mountain Range and the Torey Lakes region near the common border of China, Mongolia and Russia.
G. i. stejnegeri (Rendahl, 1933)Gobi pit viperThe edge of the Gobi Desert in southeastern Inner Mongolia south into China as far as northern Shanxi and Hebei.

Etymology

The subspecific name, stejnegeri, is in honor of Norwegian-born American herpetologist Leonhard Stejneger. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gloydius</i> Genus of snakes

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<i>Gloydius himalayanus</i> Species of snake

Gloydius himalayanus also known as the Himalayan pit viper or the Himalayan viper is a venomous pitviper species found along the southern slopes of the Himalayas in Pakistan, India and Nepal. No subspecies are currently recognized. Himalayan pit vipers have been found up to 4900m above sea level, which makes it the highest living snake ever found.

<i>Hypnale</i> Genus of snakes

Hypnale is a genus of venomous pit vipers endemic to Sri Lanka and southwestern India. Three monotypic species are currently recognized. All members have more or less upturned snouts that produce a hump-nosed effect.

<i>Trimeresurus stejnegeri</i> Species of snake

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamushi</span> Species of snake

Gloydius blomhoffii, commonly known as the mamushi, Japanese moccasin, Japanese pit viper, Qichun snake, Salmusa or Japanese mamushi, is a venomous pit viper species found in Japan. It was once considered to have 4 subspecies, but it is now considered monotypic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida cottonmouth</span> Species of snake

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<i>Gloydius saxatilis</i> Species of snake

Gloydius saxatilis is a venomous pitviper species endemic to Russia, China and the Korean Peninsula. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Gloydius halys</i> Species of snake

Gloydius halys is a venomous pitviper species found within a wide range that stretches across Asia, from Russia, east of the Urals, eastwards through China. Five subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominotypical form described here.

<i>Ovophis okinavensis</i> Species of snake

Ovophis okinavensis, commonly known as the hime habu (ヒメハブ), Ryukyu Island pit viper, and the Okinawan pitviper, is a venomous pitviper species found in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Trimeresurus kanburiensis</i> Species of snake

Trimeresurus kanburiensis is a species of pit viper found in only a few areas of Thailand. Common names include: Kanburi pitviper, Kanburian pit viper, and tiger pit viper. Highly venomous, it is an arboreal but heavily built species with a brown or tawny coloration. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Craspedocephalus puniceus</i> Species of snake

Craspedocephalus puniceus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Southeast Asia. Common names include: flat-nosed pitviper, flat-nosed pit viper, and ashy pit viper. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Trimeresurus fasciatus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Djampea Island, Indonesia. No subspecies are currently recognized. Common names include: banded pitviper and banded tree viper.

Hypnale walli, or Wall's hump-nosed viper, is a venomous pitviper species endemic to Sri Lanka. The smallest member of its genus, it is distinguished by having a strongly upturned nose and lower scale counts. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Gloydius monticola is a venomous pitviper species endemic to southern China. A small and darkly colored snake with no visible color pattern, it is found high in the mountains of northern Yunnan province. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Gloydius shedaoensis is a venomous pitviper species found only on Shedao Island in China. Although very small, this island is home to an extraordinarily large population of these snakes. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Gloydius strauchi is a species of venomous pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to western China. It is a small snake with a pattern of four longitudinal stripes, although some older specimens may be a uniform black. G. strauchi may be distinguished from G. monticola by its higher midbody dorsal scale count. This species jointly holds the altitude record for pitvipers together with Crotalus triseriatus of Mexico, both being found even above the tree line at over 4,000 m (13,000 ft). No subspecies were recognized as being valid, until a recent publication re-evaluated the taxonomic statuses of populations of G. strauchi and described the eastern Tibetan populations as a new species.

<i>Gloydius ussuriensis</i> Species of snake

Gloydius ussuriensis is a venomous pitviper species endemic to far east Russia, northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Gloydius brevicauda</i> Species of snake

Gloydius brevicauda is a venomous pitviper species endemic to China and the Korean Peninsula.

Trimeresurus stejnegeri chenbihuii, commonly known as the Chen's bamboo pitviper, is a subspecies of venomous pitviper in the family Viperidae. The subspecies is endemic to Hainan Island in China.

References

  1. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN   1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN   1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. 1 2 3 "Gloydius intermedius". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gloyd HK, Conant R (1990). Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 614 pp. 52 plates. LCCN 89-50342. ISBN   0-916984-20-6.
  4. ↑ Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. First Edition. Berlin: Geitje Books. 368 pp. ISBN   3-937975-00-4.
  5. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Gloydius intermedius stejnegeri, p. 253).


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