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Notes on the Diet and Reproduction Ofthe Cyclades Blunt-Nosed Viper

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Brr IIERPETOZoAro (3/4):l?l - r75 I(URZE MITTEILLINC / SHORTNOTE Wi.'! 30.D.z.mber 1997 Noteson the diet and reproduction ofthe CycladesBlunt-nosed Viper, Macroviperaschweizeri (WERNER, 1935) (Squ2mata:Serpentes: Vip€ridae) Bemcrkulgenzur Nahtung und Fonpflanzung derMllosotte., Mocrovipera scrveireri (WER\ER,l9l5) (Squamala:Scrp€ntcs: Viperidac) CIILOE ADAMoPOULoU & EFSTRATIoSD VTAXOS & Ar,tAsrAstosLEGArcs KURZEASSL]NO Id.lngrb.n Nrhlng und ForpnMnE hildsir.h{ Mrlo\onln! V,..ovrr..o rctc?rz"a (WrRNIR 1935).*erden sffiocfrr ^' D.e 1r unreRuchrhExmpla. nffbr rr\ Mur.Lrbs.rmlunqflr D'e /lnllmrBiF Arr.:le dd Ntrrnng$iek b.hgh ,Bgcsor. \Jgerid. (42.800),Lioe.[Rn r2t,aqq i6s.t r7lotr wrb.r6<c (tmetmlicfi Xif6.l3.4%). Dicfdsdclns Cclcs.sra&nurfa&d qq br clf Eid ABSTITACT PEI'miMry t|!u 6 $. did rd rcpr.dud'd or rh. C}tl.d6 Blqr.Nsd \ipq, Ltactoqpaa t.hwEen (wd \-1 l9r 5 '' om v iio\ q. rcp.dcd all s?cflmesc\dnrncd (24 ) .d. frommuselT colle-rod Ovtrltt ,u- frlri.al proponionof nre\ iqs: RoJ.DLsra2 8%,. I|ar(ll 40!).bnd! 0"" , invmebml6{md'nlv Colcoprdr 28.4%} Clulch si& oben.d .&s.d non four ro d.vd ovr. '21 KEY WORDS s.rrqb: vipdidE, Ma.dtp.& rcr*,!?r( di.( rqroductiol eeloa) Ii,lilos.cr@ The CycladesBlunl-nosed Vper ,lta- siream beds with Nerium oleande\ Pis- craviperuschweizeri (lyEp.ltER, 1935) is en- tacia lentiscus Myrlus canmunis demiclo the tlle Weslen Clcladesidands (SrUBBst985). ^nd of Milos, Kimolos, PolyaiBosand Sif os in This uniquc, higNy threateneds!e- the SoulhAegean (Greece). cies is facing crliDction.It is considercd Macrovipera schweize is rem rk- endangeredaccording to the 1996 ruCN ablefor beinglhe only European\iper that Red Lisl of Threatened Aninuls (WCMC is o\iparcus (ARNoLD& BURToNl9?8). 1996),in spiteof Ihe campaignsmad€ by Adultsmeasure up lo 80 cm (TL) (ScHwEr- manyscientists and naturalisls.Continuous zER1957; ARNoLD & BuRroN1978). This habihl destruction and lhe evident dcfi. viper is found in a wide vari€ly of habitats ciencyin applying(h€ law are the main includingdry rockyoulcrops and cullivaled reasonsfor declinc.Furlhermorc, lery lillle land (ScHwEr?-ER1935, 1949: SruBRs 1985). is known on the ecologyof lhis ryccies and As far as it is known,lhe mostimporlanl mostdal1 com€from animolsin captivity populadonsoccur on Milos IslaDd.Toda] or anecdotalobscrvalions (e. g., ScIlwEl- only certainhabitats seem to hold signifi- zER1949, 1957; PERRY & BroDy 1986). cant nurnbcrs(in total: ?000,8000indi- The prcsentwork was stimulaledby viduals, SruBBs 1985).The Blunl-nosed the fact thal lack of basicecological knowl- Vipcr is parlicularlyiound in the westem edgeis hindering thc setting up of efrective pan of $c island(whcre also the rarered conservationplans. Biety occurs).There it lives in shellcred, Consideringlhar {i) rhc rhrcirerung denscly vegctatedplaces with rocky slopes silualionofM s.r)'?izer"rpopulalions for- or along water coursessuch as scasonal bids the captureof animalsand (ii) that t74 CH. ADAMOPOWOU & E.D VAUXOS & A IIOAXTS mus€um sDecimensare useful foa the re- and insectrvoresarc the main prey groups rnevalof+ological datawilhoul removing (e.9., PRnsrr t9?l). Althoughinsectivores anirnalsfrom the $ild. we examinedall are abundantin the habitetsof the viper specimensfrom Milos island(24) lhat r€re (ADAMopor,r-ou,unpubl- dara), they wcre deposiledat $e Herpetologicalcollections not foundin the stomachsexamined. This ofthe MuseumKoenig in Bonn(Germany) nraybe relatedto the fact thal in spnng and at the Nallral HistoryMuseum of Vi- ($hen the snakesw€re collected),vipers in enm (Austria).One specimen had a labora- Milos areactive during the moming(BRU- tory mousein its slomachand, therefore, No 1985;SrLrBBs 1985). At this time of the \ras excludedfro lhis study.we meas- year they probably prey mainly on rod€nts wed the specimensfor body lenglh, r€- and not on inseclivores which ar9 more moveddle entiredigestivo lmct and exam- nocturnal(cApLr-A & LulsELLr1990). i ed it for the presenceof prey remnrnts. pddal.iJ ,,i/arr,s representsthe most Prey ilems were identified to the lowest abundant lizard species in the island taxonomiccategory possible. reachingvery hjgh populalion d€nsities The slomach contents were summa- (SruBBs 1985; ADAj\roPouLou,unpubl. rizedin two wals: i) proportionofthe total data).This could be the reasonwhy this numberof preyitems in the stomachs(%n) lizard was the only reptilespecies present and ii) propodon of vipers4ting a given in the stomachs. Vipera annodytes me- prey taxon (F). ln four female specimens r,dloralisBour-ENcER, 1903 has also been we examined the number of eggs in the obsewedto feedon lizardsin the insular oviduct and measuredtheir length and ecosy$ems of the Aegean (vdAKos & widlh 10the nearestmm with verniercalli- Vr-AcHoPAxos1989; VaraKos 1990)- percentage pers._ The of arthropods in the for the rdenullcallonoI nalrs ano stomachs examined was telatively high. featlers from th€ stomachsof the animals, Nevertheless,these anhropods could repre- rhe method of DE MAxJNrs & AoNELLI sent secondaiilyingested remains fiom tle (1993)was used.Identificadon keys and stomachsof preyedlizards EucIERo & al. photographswere obrained from DAY 1995).However, among the vipersexarn- (j966),KELLER (1980. I98l) aodDE M^- ined, arthropodswere also found in stom- RrNrs& AaNELLT(1991). Comparalive hair achs that did not conlain lizards. An],way, material was sa pled from identified anhropodswere found in small specimens specimensdeposited in the ZoologicalMu- CfL < 52 cm) only. This might meanthat seumof theUniversity ofAthens. tle diet compositionof small individuals A totalof 24 animalswas examined. ditrersfrom that in adults.Other small vi- ofwhich 12had identifiablefood residuals perssuch as trI !,"ririi @oNA?ARrE,1833) in their slomachs-Small mammals(Rartus liequentlyprey on arthropods(AGRIMI & sp., nd) represented42.8% of the diet LulsELLr1992). (F=50), lacedd lizards IPodarcis nilensis The analysis of reproductive traiis (BEDRTAGA1882), n=31 21.4% 1P=25), was carfied out on four female museum birds fPasseriformesundet., n=ll 7% specimenswhich werecollected in spdng (I-8.3). Invenebrates Imostly undeter- (May). Number of ova in the firsi three mined Coleoptera, n=4. F=251 were also animals was I l, 6 and 4, respectively.The presentin the diet amountingto 28.4%of oviducts of the fourlh animal were dam- $e total numberof prey itemi. agedand the numberof ola coonled(2) The absenceof publisheddata regard- $rs excludedfrom the anallsis.Funher- ing the complele fauna oi srMll mammals more, one of the ll ova was deformedand of Milos Islanddoes not permil us to hy- not measured.Egg length(n = 20): 12.9- Dothesizeon the Dreferenceof rodenls in 31.5 mm (x = 22.74mm, SD 5.68 mn); ile diet. However; recent unpublished re- egg $idth (n = 20): 5.3 - 14.5 mm (I = sults from mammal rapping carried out by 10.78mn, SD 2.5 mm). ouJ team, indicate a predominanceof R, Until now, informationon tle repro- j"alfus ard insectivoresamong small mam- d]octjot\of M- schweizericomes exclusively mals. The najority of the Europeanvipers ftom capliveanimals. ScHwElzER (1949, feeds on small mammals where rodents 1957)obscNed egg depositionin threefe- On th. diet ed EproduclionofMa *o,ipta schveizeri t75 male animals. In the first case the clutch Our observations,as far as clutch size sizewas 7 (egt lenglh 35 - 47 Im) Tl,e is concemed,are jn agreementwith Drevi- clutch size in lhe other Blo caseswar ousrepons. Consrdering yh;eizeri (leng lhatM. elelen r 13 - 37 mm)and s€veneqss. usually lays irs eggs in lale slrnmer respecdvely.In all cases.onlv about50aA (ScHwElzER1957: BRUNo t985). lhe com- of the eggs hatcbed.PERiy & BroDy paratively srnall e8g size found (1986) in our reported simitar resutts from three sp€cimeff is attributed to the early Deriod years' observalionson a female in caotivitv of collection(May). Altlroush (clurch M'rcr*er- size: 7 - ll. e8g len4h: li - 4j zeais oneof Lhebiggesl vipers of Europe, mm..aboul 30 % ofrhe eSes$ere norferdl- rls crurcnslze ts srmrtarto $at ofthe other rzeo). Europeanvipers (BR6o 1985). ACXiIOWLEDCMENTS wc would like to lhant Dr. W. BdI{Ia (Bom) Musum (aon4 Ce'r]dy) &d $e Nsuditui$h* sd D^. F TEDE}irN dd It. cR0rnse lvimat. Mueumorwifl (vitu4 A@ia). $ho tindly allowed us ro e@nE ttt Mitav@i This eudy % $pporLd by J.rw,:en lhc Cnsd Sene sp*ims tom $e H.@rolosjot c; .e bn.l rbr R*rch rd T*hnoto$r, proJ.dno. L29t/ lion ot 6e Ajevndtr Xoqis Z.ot;s.at -tffldue od REFERINCES AaRn{. U & LrrsEL4 L. d99?} Fecdinr y,pera 373-413. sdeds ofrhe vip* !ruth" idth, A; RUAMIO, ";e L & CA?LT]-A M. & FlIPlL E & trines.- Herptulosi(alJ.; : 37.a2. LLlsEru L (1995): F@d habils of MediiF,med (1973)i ArNoLD, E. N, & BURmNJ, A A fietd popurdiod ofthe sm@ti sni(e (Catun?tla aushacat.- ro the Buide replil* ad mrnibiu of drnlin & Hsrpet J.; J {4): 3 I6,3 18. Europe- L.ndon(Colliro), 273 ip. scirs€zF& H. (l9l5j: B.'rrac ru R@dtim- (1935): BP!,No.s t \ip*dlblia.dE!- hun, dd Lslgdppe von Mrtos(Cvd.).- Blitta Aon, rapc- Bologn (EdaBri6le), 268 pt Ta&.-lnd.: 46 8-L5. cAlulrt M. & LlnsELLr.L.l l990r.AmtBs of scHtr€zEq H (t913): w.nfs obq dic R+ $e snr enrmts ot hperc asp^ Gon & a;a or;rrat rilimqeh dr 9lrd*dlrchd Ky yg.ta (Tolfa !.ber;a ILly mounaiN, tjliur): a new medod 10sludv r?6c",a von Milos, eine ErdeFir.^d4 6tft!.r Aiur the Emdrialsmall d'lmah.- Hslnx ln.s.[ 2: lol. T.fu..krde.: 49: 3l-J8. t01 scls@EE H. ( | 949) p. BdhB tur Kmhis dq DE MAuMs, A M. & Aowlr 0993): cuide Ain dd Lebeinal^m.. lo the nis6&p€ &alysis of lt !i& m.lmah h'i6: In- Aqur, T.m. z.:2 (9): ls6-r59 sa-livor4 RodfltD ed tjgonolpha.- Aolt Z@t.. To.i- s(wErz€r.
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  • New Locality Records of Blunt-Nosed Viper, Macrovipera Lebetina Euphratica (Martin, 1838) in Southern Iraq (Ophidia : Viperidae)

    New Locality Records of Blunt-Nosed Viper, Macrovipera Lebetina Euphratica (Martin, 1838) in Southern Iraq (Ophidia : Viperidae)

    J. Exp. Zool. India Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 279-282, 2019 www.connectjournals.com/jez ISSN 0972-0030 NEW LOCALITY RECORDS OF BLUNT-NOSED VIPER, MACROVIPERA LEBETINA EUPHRATICA (MARTIN, 1838) IN SOUTHERN IRAQ (OPHIDIA : VIPERIDAE) Muhanad Al-Jabry1, Zine El Abidine El Moussawi2, Nasrullah Rasregar-Pouyani and Rasoul Karamiani3 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Razi University, 67149 67346 Kermanshah, Iran. 2Education Directorate of Thi-Qar Province, Nasiriya, Iraq. 3Iranian Plateau Herpetology Research Group (IPHRG), Razi University, 714967346 Kermanshah, Iran. (Accepted 18 October 2018) ABSTRACT : The Levant viper, Macrovipera lebetina euphratica is recorded from AL-Tar subdistrict (western Hammar marsh) Al-Nasiriya Province south Iraq. Information on morphological features and the biology of this subspecies is given. Key words : Macrovipera lebetina euphratica, distribution, morphology, south Iraq. INTRODUCTION (2016) five adult female specimens have been collected Macrovipera lebetina obtusa was first described in from north eastern Iraq: of these two specimens were Jelisawetpol in Transcaucasia by Dwigubsky in 1832 (Tok collected from Diyala province, Khanaqin district (34° et al, 2002). It is distributed in Palestine, Lebanon, western 18' 26.28" N, 45° 23' 27.54" E; alt. 216m.) and three of Jordan, northern Syria, southern and central Turkey and them have been collected from Al-Khalis district (33° 49' along the Tigris-Euphrates drainage in Iraq, to the east in 1.63" N, 44° 32' 56.60" E; alt. 210m.). Afghanistan and Pakistan; from northern Baluchistan to According to Stümpel and Joger (2009), M. lebetina borders of Kashmir and to the north in Transcaucasia to segregate into four major lineages which support the the Kura Valley and in Transcaspia to the Fergana basin, validity of the allopatric subspecies lebetina, obtusa, Morocco through N.

  • Squamata, Scincidae) from Pakistan

    ZooKeys 1039: 123–138 (2021) A peer-reviewed open-access journal doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1039.64146 RESEARCH ARTICLE https://zookeys.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity research Out of the blue: The first record of the genus Heremites Gray, 1845 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Pakistan Rafaqat Masroor1, Muhammad Idrees2, Muhammad Khisroon2, Qaisar Jamal2, Daniel Jablonski3 1 Zoological Sciences Division, Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian, Islama- bad-44000, Pakistan 2 Department of Zoology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan 3 Department of Zoology, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, Mlynská dolina, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia Corresponding author: Daniel Jablonski ([email protected]) Academic editor: Aaron Bauer | Received 8 February 2021 | Accepted 6 April 2021 | Published 20 May 2021 http://zoobank.org/78118E6B-2FCF-4194-B8AE-F7EEF74F2D6B Citation: Masroor R, Idrees M, Khisroon M, Jamal Q, Jablonski D (2021) Out of the blue: The first record of the genus Heremites Gray, 1845 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Pakistan. ZooKeys 1039: 123–138. https://doi.org/10.3897/ zookeys.1039.64146 Abstract The genus Heremites Gray, 1845 is endemic to the Western Palearctic region, containing morphologi- cally similar species with a not well resolved taxonomy. The genus has a broad distribution from North Africa to Central Asia, with the only known record from northeastern Afghanistan. Three species are currently recognized in the genus with one, H. septemtaeniatus (Reuss, 1834), representing populations at the eastern edge of the genus range. During extensive fieldwork, we discovered H. septemtaeniatus from northwestern Pakistan and provisionally suggest that this population could be morphologically defined as H. septemtaeniatus transcaucasicus (Chernov, 1926).
  • Macrovipera Lebetina Lebetina (Reptilia: Serpentes)

    Macrovipera Lebetina Lebetina (Reptilia: Serpentes)

    Türkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi, 30 (2): 158-162, 2006 Acta Parasitologica Turcica © Türkiye Parazitoloji Derneği © Turkish Society for Parasitology Clinical, Physiological and Serological Observations of a Human Following a Venomous Bite by Macrovipera lebetina Lebetina (Reptilia: Serpentes) 1 1 2 1 1 Bayram GÖÇMEN* , Huseyin ARIKAN , Yusuf ÖZBEL , Ahmet MERMER , Kerim ÇİÇEK Ege University Science Faculty, 1 Science Faculty, Department of Zoology; 2Medical School Department of Parasitology, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey SUMMARY: A researcher, a 40 year-old male, was bitten on his finger accidentally by a 75 cm long, adult male blunt-nosed viper, Macrovipera lebetina lebetina (Linnaeus) that had been collected from northern Cyprus during laboratory work in the Zoology Section, Biology Department of the Ege University Faculty of Science. The clinical signs, physiological and biochemical changes soon after the venomous bite by the blunt-nosed viper as well as the electrophoretic separation of plasma proteins of the patient have been presented here. Serious important symptoms (edema, hypotension shock, hemorrhage, tissue necrosis, and melanoderma) developed and major quantitative differences in the fractions of albumin, globulin and albumin/globulin ratios were detected. On the other hand, the measure- ments carried out in blood smears and biochemical results indicated the decrease in RBC, MCV, MHV and a decrease in the diameter of red blood cells, as well as an increase in WBC. Key Words: Venomous snake bite, Macrovipera lebetina, blunt-nosed viper, electrophoretic and biochemical analysis, blood cells Macrovipera lebetina lebetina (Reptilia: Serpentes) Isırması Ardından İnsanda Klinik, Fizyolojik ve Serolojik Gözlemler ÖZET: Ege Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Biyoloji Bölümü Zooloji Anabilim Dalı’nda yürütülmekte olan bir çalışma esnasında, kuzey Kıbrıs’tan toplanan 75 cm uzunluğunda ergin erkek bir Koca engerek, Macrovipera lebetina lebetina (Linnaeus) tarafından kazara 40 yaşındaki erkek bir araştırmacı ısırılmıştır.
  • Calibrating the Tree of Vipers Under the Fossilized Birth-Death Model Jiří Šmíd 1,2,3,4 & Krystal A

    Calibrating the Tree of Vipers Under the Fossilized Birth-Death Model Jiří Šmíd 1,2,3,4 & Krystal A

    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Calibrating the tree of vipers under the fossilized birth-death model Jiří Šmíd 1,2,3,4 & Krystal A. Tolley 1,5 Scaling evolutionary trees to time is essential for understanding the origins of clades. Recently Received: 18 September 2018 developed methods allow including the entire fossil record known for the group of interest and Accepted: 15 February 2019 eliminated the need for specifying prior distributions for node ages. Here we apply the fossilized birth- Published: xx xx xxxx death (FBD) approach to reconstruct the diversifcation timeline of the viperines (subfamily Viperinae). Viperinae are an Old World snake subfamily comprising 102 species from 13 genera. The fossil record of vipers is fairly rich and well assignable to clades due to the unique vertebral and fang morphology. We use an unprecedented sampling of 83 modern species and 13 genetic markers in combination with 197 fossils representing 28 extinct taxa to reconstruct a time-calibrated phylogeny of the Viperinae. Our results suggest a late Eocene-early Oligocene origin with several diversifcation events following soon after the group’s establishment. The age estimates inferred with the FBD model correspond to those from previous studies that were based on node dating but FBD provides notably narrower credible intervals around the node ages. Viperines comprise two African and an Eurasian clade, but the ancestral origin of the subfamily is ambiguous. The most parsimonious scenarios require two transoceanic dispersals over the Tethys Sea during the Oligocene. Scaling phylogenetic trees to time is one of the major challenges in evolutionary biology. Reliable estimates for the age of evolutionary events are essential for addressing a wide array of questions, such as deciphering micro- and macroevolutionary processes, identifying drivers of biodiversity patterns, or understanding the origins of life1.
  • Systematics, Distribution and Ecology of the Snakes of Jordan

    Systematics, Distribution and Ecology of the Snakes of Jordan

    Vertebrate Zoology 61 (2) 2011 179 179 – 266 © Museum für Tierkunde Dresden, ISSN 1864-5755, 25.10.2011 Systematics, distribution and ecology of the snakes of Jordan ZUHAIR S. AMR 1 & AHMAD M. DISI 2 1 Department of Biology, Jordan University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid, 11112, Jordan. amrz(at)just.edu.jo 2 Department of Biology, the University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan. ahmadmdisi(at)yahoo.com Accepted on June 18, 2011. Published online at www.vertebrate-zoology.de on June 22, 2011. > Abstract The present study consists of both locality records and of literary data for 37 species and subspecies of snakes reported from Jordan. Within the past decade snake taxonomy was re-evaluated employing molecular techniques that resulted in reconsideration of several taxa. Thus, it is imperative now to revise the taxonomic status of snakes in Jordan to update workers in Jordan and the surrounding countries with these nomenclatural changes. The snake fauna of Jordan consists of 37 species and subspecies belonging to seven families (Typhlopidae, Leptotyphlopidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Atractaspididae, Elapidae and Viperidae). Families Leptotyphlopidae, Boidae and Elapidae are represented by a single species each, Leptotyphlops macrorhynchus, Eryx jaculus and Walterinnesia aegyptia respectively. The families Typhlopidae and Atractaspididae are represented by two and three species respectively. Species of the former genus Coluber were updated and the newly adopted names are included. Family Colubridae is represented by twelve genera (Dolichophis, Eirenis, Hemorrhois, Lytorhynchus, Malpolon, Natrix, Platyceps, Psammophis, Rhagerhis, Rhynchocalamus, Spalerosophis and Telescopus) and includes 24 species. Family Viperidae includes fi ve genera (Cerastes, Daboia, Echis, Macrovipera and Pseudocerastes), each of which is represented by a single species, except the genus Cerastes which is represented by two subspecies.