Vipera nikolskii explained

Common names: Nikolsky's adder, forest-steppe adder.^[1]

Vipera nikolskii is a venomous viper species found in Ukraine, eastern Romania, and southwestern Russia.^[2] No subspecies are currently recognized.

Etymology

The specific name, nikolskii, is in honor of Russian herpetologist Alexander Mikhailovich Nikolsky.^[3]

Description

Adults of V. nikolskii are short and thick-bodied, growing to a maximum total length (including tail) of 680mm.^[1]

Holotype

ZDKU 14704, according to Golay et al. (1993).

Geographic range

Vipera nikolskii is spread in Central Ukraine and southwestern Russia.^[2] Mallow et al. (2003) mention that the distribution is concentrated in the forest-steppe zone of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine.^[1]

The type locality, according to Golay et al. (1993), is the banks of the Uda River, between Besljudovka and Vasishtshevo, near Kharkiv.

Also, Vipera nikolskii was recently found in the eastern and southern part of Romania and Basarabia (Republic of Moldova) by Zinenko et al. (2010) and Strugariu & Zamfirescu (2008).It recently occurred on a ridge in the Low Tatras, Slovakia

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.
• Strugariu A, Zamfirescu SR, Nicoară A, Gherghel I, Sas I, Pușcașu CM, Bugeac T (2008). "Preliminary data regarding the distribution of the herpetofauna in Iași County (Romania)". North-Western Journal of Zoology 4 (Supplement 1): S1-S23.
• Vedmederja VI, Grubant VN, Rudajewa AV (1986). ["On the taxonomy of the three viper species in the ''Vipera kaznakowi'' complex"]. In: Ananjeva N, Borkin L (editors). "Systematics and Ecology of Amphibians and Reptiles". Proceedings of the Zoological Institute, Leningrad 157: 55-61. (In Russian).
• Zinenko, Oleksandr; Țurcanu, Vladimir; Strugariu, Alexandru (2010). "Distribution and morphological variation of Vipera berus nikolskii Vedmederja, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986 in Western Ukraine, The Republic of Moldova and Romania". Amphibia - Reptilia 31 (1): 51-67.

Notes and References

1. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. .
2. . Web site: Animals of Russia. 2009-10-02. 2021-09-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210928065548/http://www.sevin.ru/vertebrates/. dead.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Vipera nikolskii, p. 190).