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Montivipera kuhrangica

Montivipera kuhrangica, commonly known as the Kuhrang mountain viper (named after a mountain they have been found on), is a species of viper endemic to Iran.[1][2] Like all other vipers, it is venomous.

Description

M. kuhrangica can be distinguished from other Montivipera sp. in many ways, such as their relatively high head scale count as well as distinctly strongly projected suprocular scales.[3]

Reproduction

M. kuhrangica repreoduce sexually and are ovoviviparous.[1]

Geographic range

The snake is found in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran in the Zagros Mountains - specifically Tulip Valley at an elevation of 2490m.[1][4]

Because the current known geographic range of M. kuhrangica is smaller than 5000km2, their habitat is being damaged by overgrazing and their sightings are so rare, it has been proposed to consider M. kurangica as endangered.[5] This has not been officially concluded.

References

  1. ^ a b c Species Montivipera kuhrangica at The Reptile Database
  2. ^ Rajabizadeh, Mehdi; Göran Nilson, and Haji Gholi Kami 2011. A New Species of Mountain Viper (Ophidia: Viperidae) from the Central Zagros Mountains, Iran. Russ. J. Herpetol. 18 (3): 235 – 240
  3. ^ Rajabizadeh, Mahdi. (2013). Biodiversity of the snakes in northern and western mountains of Iran, with special emphasis on biodiversity in colubroids.
  4. ^ Gholamifard, A (September 2011). "Endemism in the reptile fauna of Iran". Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics. 7 (1). doi:10.22067/ijab.v7i1.25218.
  5. ^ Behrooz, Roozbeh; Kaboli, Mohammad; Arnal, Véronique; Nazarizadeh, Masoud; Asadi, Atefeh; Salmanian, Amin; Ahmadi, Mohsen; Montgelard, Claudine (2018). "Conservation Below the Species Level: Suitable Evolutionarily Significant Units among Mountain Vipers (The Montivipera raddei complex) in Iran". Journal of Heredity. 109 (4): 416–425. doi:10.1093/jhered/esy005. PMID 29401236. Retrieved 2024-07-22.