Vipera berus sachalinensis

Vipera berus sachalinensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. berus
Subspecies:	V. b. sachalinensis
Trinomial name
Vipera berus sachalinensis Zarevskij, 1917
Synonyms
Vipera berus sachalinensisZarevskij, 1917 Vipera sachalinensis — Mertens, 1934 Vipera (Vipera) berus sachalinensis — Obst, 1983 [1]

Vipera berus sachalinensis (Sakhalin Island adder ^[2] a.k.a. Sakhalin adder ^[3] ) is a viper subspecies ^[4] endemic to Asia. ^[5] Like all other vipers, it is venomous.

Geographic range

It is found in the Russian Far East (Amur), China (Jilin), North Korea, and on Sakhalin Island. ^[5]

According to Schwarz (1936), the type locality is "Sachalin" (= Sakhalin Island, Russia). ^[1]

Taxonomy

McDiarmid et al. (1999) follow Golay et al. (1993) and recognize V. b. sachalinensis as a subspecies of V. berus. ^[1] However, it has been considered a full species in recent literature. ^[5]

References

1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 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. Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN   0-8069-6460-X.
3. Brown JH. 1973. Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN   0-398-02808-7.
4. "Vipera berus sachalinensis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 16 August 2006.
5. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN   0-89464-877-2.

Further reading

• Golay P, Smith HM, Broadley DG, Dixon JR, McCarthy CJ, Rage J-C, Schätti B, Toriba M. 1993. Endoglyphs and Other Major Venomous Snakes of the World. A Checklist. Geneva: Azemiops. 478 pp.
• Schwarz, Ernst. 1936. Untersuchungen über Systematik und Verbreitung der europäischen und mediterranen Otter. In: Die europäischen und mediterranen Ottern und ihre Gifte. Behringwerk-Mitteilungen7: 159-362.
• Zarevskij, Sergei Fedorovich. 1917. [New Forms of the Genus Vipera found in the Russian Empire: Vipera tigrina, new species, and Vipera berus var. sachalinensis, new variation?]. [Annals of the Museum of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences, Petrograd ] 21: 37. (in Russian).

External links

• Vipera berus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database . Accessed 21 November 2007.