The Mount Bulgar viper (Montivipera bulgardaghica), also called the Bulgardagh viper[4] is a viper species endemic to the mountains of southern Turkey.[4] Like all other vipers, it is venomous. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5]
Mount Bulgar viper | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Viperidae |
Genus: | Montivipera |
Species: | M. bulgardaghica |
Binomial name | |
Montivipera bulgardaghica Nilson & Andrén, 1985 | |
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Synonyms[2]
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Description
It grows to a maximum total length (body + tail) of about 78 cm (31 in).[4]
Geographic range
It is found in the Bulgar Dagh (Bolkar Dagi) mountains, Nigde Province, south central Anatolia, Turkey. It is a rarely seen animal.
The type locality given is "Cilician Taurus (Kar Boghaz, Bulgar Dagh, 2500 m) province Nigde" (= Karbogaz, Bolkar dagi Ulukişla, 8,200 ft), south central Anatolia, Turkey.[2]
Conservation status
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Vipera_bulgardaghica.jpg/240px-Vipera_bulgardaghica.jpg)
This species is classified as Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]
It is also listed as a protected species (Appendix III) under the Berne Convention.[6]
Taxonomy
This species was considered by Golay et al. (1993) to be a subspecies of M. xanthina,[2] and was subsequently moved to the genus Montivipera by Nilson et al. (1999), who considered it to be a synonym of Montivipera xanthina.[3]
References
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.
- Nilson G, Andrén C. 1985. Systematics of the Vipera xanthina complex (Reptilia: Viperidae). 3. Taxonomic status of the Bulgar Dagh viper in south Turkey. Journal of Herpetology 19 (2): 276-283. (Vipera bulgardaghica, new species)
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Montivipera xanthina at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 21 October 2013.