Viperinae

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Viperinae
Daboia russelii A Chawla01.jpg
Chain viper, Daboia russelii, a viperine
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Viperinae
Oppel, 1811
Synonyms

Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of vipers endemic to Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the subfamily Crotalinae. Currently, 13 genera are recognized. [2] Most are tropical and subtropical, although one species, Vipera berus , even occurs within the Arctic Circle. [3] Like all vipers, they are venomous.

Contents

The common names "pitless vipers", "true vipers", "Old World vipers", [3] and "true adders" [4] all refer to this group.

Description

Members of this subfamily range in size from Bitis schneideri , which grows to a maximum total length (body and tail) of 280 mm (11 in), to the Gaboon viper, which reaches a maximum total length of over 2 m (6.6 ft). Most species are terrestrial, but a few, such as those of the genus Atheris , are completely arboreal. [3]

Although the heat-sensing pits that characterize the Crotalinae are clearly lacking in the viperines, a supernasal sac with sensory function has been described in a number of species. This sac is an invagination of the skin between the supranasal and nasal scales and is connected to the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. The nerve endings here resemble those in the labial pits of boas. The supernasal sac is present in the genera Daboia , Pseudocerastes and Causus , but is especially well developed in the genus Bitis . Experiments have shown that strikes are not only guided by visual and chemical cues, but also by heat, with warmer targets being struck more frequently than colder ones. [3]

Geographic range

Viperinae are found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, [1] but not in Madagascar. [5]

Reproduction

Generally, members of this subfamily are ovoviviparous, although a few, such as Pseudocerastes, Cerastes , and some Echis species are oviparous (egg-laying). [3]

Genera

Genus [2] Taxon author [2] Species [2] Common name [3] [6] Geographic range [1]
Atheris Cope, 186218Bush vipersTropical sub-Saharan Africa, excluding southern Africa.
Bitis Gray, 184218Puff adders Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula.
Cerastes Laurenti, 17683Horned vipers North Africa eastward through Arabia and Iran.
Daboia Gray, 18424Day adders Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, China (Guangxi and Guangdong), Taiwan and Indonesia (Ende, Flores, East Java, Komodo, Lomblen islands).
Echis Merrem, 182012Saw-scaled vipersIndia and Sri Lanka, parts of the Middle East and Africa north of the equator.
Eristicophis Alcock and Finn, 18971McMahon's viperThe desert region of Balochistan near the Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Macrovipera Reuss, 19272Large Palearctic vipersSemideserts and steppes of Northern Africa, the Near and Middle East, and Milos in the Aegean Sea.
Montatheris Broadley, 19961Kenya mountain viper Kenya: moorlands of the Aberdare Range and Mount Kenya above 3,000 m (9,800 ft).
Montivipera Nilson, Tuniyev, Andren, Orlov, Joger, & Herrmann, 19998Upland vipersMiddle East
Proatheris Broadley, 19961Lowland viperFloodplains from southern Tanzania (northern end of Lake Malawi) through Malawi to near Beira, central Mozambique.
Pseudocerastes Boulenger, 18963False-horned vipersFrom the Sinai of Egypt eastward to Pakistan.
Vipera [a] Laurenti, 176821Palearctic vipers Great Britain and nearly all of continental Europe across the Arctic Circle and on some islands in the Mediterranean (Elba, Montecristo, Sicily) and Aegean Sea eastward across Northern Asia to Sakhalin and North Korea. Also found in Northern Africa in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Taxonomy

In the last 50 years, two genera previously included in the Viperinae were considered so distinctive within the Viperidae that separate subfamilies were created for them: [1]

Nevertheless, these groups, together with the genera currently recognized as belonging to the Viperinae, are still often referred to collectively as the true vipers. [3]

Broadley (1996) recognized a new tribe, Atherini, for the genera Atheris , Adenorhinos , Montatheris and Proatheris , the type genus for which is Atheris. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 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. 1 2 3 4 "Viperinae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 4 August 2006.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar. 359 pp. ISBN   0-89464-877-2.
  4. ↑ U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN   0-486-26629-X.
  5. ↑ Stidworthy J. 1974. Snakes of the World. New York: Grosset & Dunlap Inc. 160 pp. ISBN   0-448-11856-4.
  6. ↑ Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN   0-88359-029-8.

Further reading

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