Vipera latastei

Vipera latastei
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. latastei
Binomial name
Vipera latastei Boscá, 1878
Distribution of Vipera latasti.
Synonyms[2]
Vipera latasti [sic] Boscá, 1878 Vipera latastei Boscá, 1879 Vipera berus aspis var. latastei — Camerano, 1889 (nomen illegitimum) Vipera latastii [sic] Boulenger, 1896 Vipera latasti [sic] — Mertens, 1925 Latastea latastei — A.F. Reuss, 1929 Rhinaspis latastei nigricaudata A.F. Reuss, 1933 V [ipera]. ammodytes latastei — Schwarz, 1935 Vipera latastei latastei — H. Saint-Girons, 1953 Vipera (Rhinaspis) latastei latastei — Obst, 1983

Vipera latastei, also known commonly as Lataste's viper, the snub-nosed viper,[3] and the snub-nosed adder,[4] is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to the Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Maghreb.[2] Three extant subspecies and one extinct subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.[5][6]

Etymology

The specific name latastei, is in honor of Boscá's French colleague, herpetologist Fernand Lataste,[7] who would a year later return him the honor, by naming after him a discovery of his own, Boscá's newt (Lissotriton boscai).

Description

V. latastei grows to a maximum total length (including tail) of about 72 cm (28.3 in), but usually less.[3] It is grey in colour, has a triangular head, a "horn" on the tip of its nose, and a zig-zag pattern on its back.[8] The tip of the tail is yellow.

Behaviour

V. latastei can be seen day or night but is usually hidden under rocks. The yellow tip of the tail is possibly used to lure prey.[9]

Geographic range

V. latastei is found in southwestern Europe (Portugal and Spain) and northwestern Africa (the Mediterranean region of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia).[1][5] It is possibly extinct in Tunisia.[1]

The type locality given is "Ciudad Real ", emended to "Valencia, Spanien " (Valencia, Spain) by Mertens and L. Müller (1928).[2]

Habitat

V. latastei is found in generally moist, rocky areas, in dry scrubland and woodland, hedgerows, stone walls, and sometimes in coastal dunes.[1]

Reproduction

Females of V. latasei give birth to between two and 13 young. On average, females give birth only once every three years.[1]

Conservation status

The species V. latastei was classified as Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001), and from 2008 is recognised as Vulnerable (VU). It is listed as such because it is probably in significant decline (but likely at a rate of less than 30% over ten years) due to widespread habitat loss and persecution throughout much of its range, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable. Further population reduction is expected, but is not likely to exceed 30% over the next 10 years, but localized extinctions in parts of its range are possible (e.g., Tunisia, Spain).[1]

It is also listed as a strictly protected species (Appendix II) under the Berne Convention.[10]

Subspecies

Species[5][6]	Taxon author[5][6]	Geographic range
V. l. arundana	Martínez-Freiría, Velo-Antón, Santos & Pleguezuelos, 2021	Spain.
V. l. gaditana	H. Saint-Girons, 1977	Southern Spain and Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia.[2][3]
V. l. latastei	Boscá, 1878	Most of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees.[3]
†V. l. ebusitana	Torres-Roig et al., 2020	Originally endemic to Ibiza, Spain, now it is extinct.[6]

References

1. Jose Antonio Mateo Miras, Marc Cheylan, M. Saïd Nouira, Ulrich Joger, Paulo Sá-Sousa, Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Iñigo Martínez-Solano (2009). "Vipera latastei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T61592A12503848. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61592A12503848.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
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).
3. 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.
4. United States Navy (1991). Poisonous Snakes of the World. New York: US Government / Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
5. Vipera latastei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 January 2021.
6. Enric Torres-Roig; Kieren J. Mitchell; Josep Antoni Alcover; Fernando Martínez-Freiría; Salvador Bailón; Holly Heiniger; Matthew Williams; Alan Cooper; Joan Pons; Pere Bover (2021). "Origin, extinction and ancient DNA of a new fossil insular viper: molecular clues of overseas immigration". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (1): 144–168. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa094.
7. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 312 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Vipera latasti [sic]", p. 151).
8. "Dangerous Snakes in Spain. Iberia Nature".
9. "Lataste's Viper, St. Louis Zoo". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
10. Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Appendix II at Council of Europe. Accessed 9 October 2006.

Further reading

• Arnold EN, Burton JA (1978). A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. London: Collins. 272 pp. ISBN 0-00-219318-3. ("Vipera latasti [sic]", pp. 219, 222 + Plate 40 + Map 124).
• Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. ("Vipera latastii [sic]", pp. 484–485).
• Boscá E (1878). "Note sur une forme nouvelle ou peu connue de vipère ". Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 3: 116–121. ("Vipera Latasti [sic]", new species, p. 121). (in French).
• Mertens R, Müller L (1928). "Liste der amphibien und reptilien Europas ". Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 45: 1–62. (in German).

External links

• Vipera latastei at Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe. Accessed 9 October 2006.