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NORTH-WESTERN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 8 (2): 378-381 ©NwjZ, Oradea, Romania, 2012 Article No.: 121210 http://biozoojournals.3x.ro/nwjz/index.html In situ confirmation of the occurrence of the critically endangered Moldavian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica) in the Ciritei Valley (Iaşi county, Romania) Ştefan R. ZAMFIRESCU1, Alexandru STRUGARIU1,*, Oana ZAMFIRESCU1 and Iulian GHERGHEL2 1. Faculty of Biology, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Carol I Blvd. Nr. 20A, 700505, Iaşi, Romania. 2. Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, 501 Life Sciences West, 74078, Stillwater, OK, USA. *Corresponding author, A. Strugariu, E-mail: [email protected] Received: 05. December 2011 / Accepted: 27. July 2012 / Available online: 30. August 2012 / Printed: December 2012 Abstract. Worldwide, snakes are among the most threatened vertebrate groups. The Moldavian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica) is a critically endangered subspecies of Vipera ursinii, a species which is also endangered throughout its entire fragmented European range. V. u. moldavica has been previously recorded from several locations in Eastern Romania but was only known to have survived in two main habitats. In this paper, we present the first field records of the Moldavian meadow viper from a habitat in which the species was previously known from a single dead specimen collected by a local person more than a decade ago. In total, five live specimens (two adult females, one adult male and two immature individuals) and one freshly- killed immature individual were found in this site. Habitat characteristics and conservation issues are also discussed. Key words: distribution, steppe habitats, vipers, conservation. Snakes exhibit almost all traits generally believed typica for this taxon) and the site known as “Dealul to increase an organism’s vulnerability to extinc- lui Dumnezeu”, both of these habitats being lo- tion (e.g. Mullin & Seigel 2009). Venomous snakes, cated in the vicinity of the city of Iaşi, North- including many European viper species have suf- Eastern Romania (Krecsák & Zamfirescu 2008, fered from intense persecution, being either killed Strugariu et al. 2008, Zamfirescu et al. 2008, or collected for various commercial reasons (e.g. 2009).The first record of V. u. moldavica in the Cir- Iftime 2005). itei Valley was dated 15th of May 2001 (Krecsák & The meadow viper (Vipera ursinii) is a Zamfirescu 2002, Krecsák et al. 2003) and was polytypic species and has a wide but fragmented based on a dead specimen collected from the area range covering parts of France, Italy, Hungary, by a local person and given to SRZ. However, Romania and the Balkan Peninsula and is consid- since then, despite several surveys of the area, no ered extinct in Austria, Bulgaria and the Republic further specimens were ever found. of Moldavia (e.g. Nilson & Andrén 2001). V. ursinii Thus, the aim of this paper is to document the is probably the most threatened European viper first direct record of a third living population of (Ujvari et al. 2002, Edgar & Bird 2006), being con- the Moldavian meadow viper from Romanian sidered as vulnerable by the IUCN (Baillie et al. Moldavia, and to discuss the its conservation im- 2004) and included in the CITES Appendix 1. plications. In Romania, the meadow viper was recorded Ciritey Valley lies at less than 5 km from the habitat of in many localities but is known to have survived Dealul lui Dumnezeu and is completely separated from in very few of these (for a review see Krecsák & the latter habitat by agricultural fields and several dirt Zamfirescu, 2008). Thus, one persisting population roads. The altitude ranges between 110 m and 160 m a.s.l.; is known from Transylvania (western Romania) the dominant slope exposure is towards south-east and and at least three are known from the Danube the habitat is a steppe grassland (Fig. 1). Delta area (Ghira 2007, Strugariu et al. 2011). The During a survey in the Ciritei Valley, on May 13th, Moldavian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica, 2010, we observed and captured two Moldavian Nilson, Andren et Joger, 1993) is a critically en- meadow viper specimens, both of them adult fe- dangered subspecies (Baillie & Groombridge 1996, males (Fig. 2). A further specimen, an adult male, Iftime 2005) and only two populations have been was later captured on the 18th of June, 2010. On the known to survive, inhabiting the “Valea lui 12th of October, 2010, two juveniles were captured David” Nature Reserve (which is also the terra and a third killed one (probably a victim of shep- A new habitat for Vipera ursinii moldavica 379 Figure 1. General view of the habitat Figure 2. Female Vipera ursinii moldavica from the Ciritei Valley. Photo: SRZ. from the Ciritei Valley. Photo: SRZ. Table 1. Biometric descriptors of the investigated specimens from the Ciritei Valley: min.-max. Adult females Adult male Immature Descriptor [n=2] [n=1] individuals [n=3] Body mass (g) 57.1-71.3 30.9 3.0-3.7 Head length (mm) 18.58-21.87 18.77 10.34-11.17 Head width (mm) 14.78-15.94 11.38 6.52-6.88 Head height (mm) 6.14-7.55 6.07 3.70-4.04 Body width (mm) 17.02-22.17 13.21 6.88-7.13 Body height (mm) 15.45-16.17 13.11 6.32-6.02 Tail width (mm) 4.83-5.87 5.44 2.87-2.90 Tail height (mm) 4.82-6.67 5.82 3.02-3.17 Tail length (mm) 56-57 64 30-31 Snout-to-vent length (mm) 520-542 375 163-180 herd) was collected from the valley (Fig. 3). After, the recording of morphological and ecological data, all specimens were released at the exact site of capture, except for the dead juvenile, which was preserved in ethanol and kept in the laboratory of the Faculty of Biology, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi. Morphological data of the cap- tured individuals are given in Table 1. For conser- vation reasons, the geographical coordinates of the site are not given but are available by request from the authors. The incidence of male, female, and immature specimens in our sample indicates the presence of Figure 3. Killed Moldavian meadow viper a reproducing population, as the population that juvenile. Photo: SRZ. lack recruitment may undergo ageing and eventu- ally extinction (Halpern & Péchy 2002). the Ciritei Valley is very similar to the habitats of The vegetation of the habitat consists of steppe the other two persistent Moldavian populations of communities that belong to the following associa- V. u. moldavica (Fig. 4) and stands apart of the his- tions: Taraxaco serotinae-Festucetum valesiacae, Jur- torical altered habitats (Zamfirescu et al. 2007, ineo arachnoideae-Stipetum lessingianae, Agropyro 2008). pectinati-Stipetum capillatae, Artemisio austriacae- Human impact is present in the area as proved Poetum bulbosae, Taraxaco serotinae-Botriochloetum by the finding of the killed specimen (Fig. 3). The ischaemi. Based on the presence of the plant com- main anthropogenic activities observed in the area munities of these associations, the habitat from are grazing, mowing and fire, which are common 380 Ş.R. Zamfirescu et al. Figure 4. Similarity among habitats of historical (lower 4) and persistent (upper 3) populations of the Moldavian meadow viper of the Romanian Moldavia. for steppe habitats (Edgar &Bird 2006, Zamfirescu References et al. 2011). These activities, if intensive, may lead Baillie, J., Groombridge, B. (1996): 1996 IUCN Red List of to habitat alteration, and fire may be responsible Threatened Animals. International Union for Conservation of for high mortalities in viper populations (Lyet Nature, Gland, Switzerland. Baillie, J.E.M., Hilton-Taylor, C., Stuart, S.N., Brackett, D. (2004): 2009). IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM: a Global Species Taking into account the fact that one of the Assessment. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. main threats for the European reptiles are habitat Cox, N.A., Temple, H.J. (2009): European Red List of Reptiles. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, loss, fragmentation and degradation (Cox & Tem- Luxembourg. ple, 2009), the confirmation of a new habitat for Edgar, P., Bird, D.R. (2006): Action plan for the Conservation of the this subspecies is important for intraspecific diver- Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii) in Europe. Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats sity and conservation. Small isolated populations Standing Commitee, 26th meeting, Strasbourg, 27-29 November, are more prone to extinction (Giordano et al. 2007, T-PVS/Inf (2006) 21. Noël et al. 2007) due to genetic consequences Ferchaud, A.L., Lyet, A., Cheylan, M., Arnal, V., Baron, J.-P., Montgelard, C., Ursenbacher, S. (2010): High Genetic (Keyghobadi 2007). The persistent Moldavian Differentiation Among French Populations of the Orsini’s Viper populations may be the remains of a previous con- (Vipera ursinii ursinii) Based on Mitochondrial and Microsatellite tinuous one and resulted as an effect of habitat de- Data: Implications for Conservation Management. Journal of Heredity 102 (1): 67–78. struction. If this is true, than these populations Ghira, I. (2007): Rediscovery of Vipera ursinii rakosiensis in may be allowed to interact by corridors manage- Transylvania. Herpetologica Romanica 1: 77-81. ment as sub-populations of a patchy metapopula- Giordano, A., Ridenhour, B., Storfer, A. (2007): The influence of altitude and topography on genetic structure in the long-toed tion, which due to high dispersal would be resis- salamander (Ambystoma macrodactulym). Molecular Ecology 16: tant to extinction (Harrison 1991). 1625–1637. Taking into account the above-mentioned con- Halpern, B., Péchy, T. (2002): Conservation activities on Hungarian meadow vipers (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) in the field. pp. 68-70. siderations, the Ciritey Valley should be desig- In: Kovács, T., Korsós, Z., Rehák, I., Corbett, K., Miller, P.

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