Moorish viper
Species of snake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Moorish viper (Daboia mauritanica or Macrovipera mauritanica; common names: Moorish viper,[2] Sahara rock viper,[3] Atlas blunt-nosed viper,[4] more) is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to northwestern Africa. No subspecies are recognized as being valid.[5]
| Moorish viper | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Viperidae |
| Genus: | Daboia |
| Species: | D. mauritanica |
| Binomial name | |
| Daboia mauritanica (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1848) | |
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description
Common names
Geographic distribution
Daboia mauritanica is found in northwestern Africa: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The type locality is "Algiers", according to Gray (1842), "Algeria" according to Schwarz (1936).[1] It is limited to the coastal regions of Algeria. Coastal records from Tunisia may refer to Macrovipera deserti.[6]
Conservation status
Daboia mauritanica is classified as Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).[8] Classified as such because this species is likely in significant decline (but at a rate of less than 30% over ten years) due to persecution, accidental mortality and over-harvesting, therefore making it close to qualifying for Vulnerable. The population trend is down. Year assessed: 2005.[9]
Taxonomy
Based on molecular evidence, Lenk et al. (2001)[10] suggested that this species, along with Macrovipera deserti, should rather be included in the genus Daboia.
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