Macrovipera

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Viperoidea

Familia: Viperidae
Subfamilia: Viperinae
Genus: Macrovipera
Species (3): M. lebetina – M. razii – M. schweizeri
Name

Macrovipera Reuss, 1927: 126

Type species: Coluber lebetinus Linnaeus, 1758, by original designation.
References
Primary references

Reuss, T. 1927. Sechs europäische Giftschlangengattungen. Zoologischer Anzeiger 72: 124–129.

Additional references

Oraie, H., Rastegar-Pouyani, E., Khosravani, A., Moradi, N., Akbari, A., Sehhatisabet, M.E., Shafiei, S., Stümpel, N. & Joger, U. 2018. Molecular and morphological analyses have revealed a new species of blunt-nosed viper of the genus Macrovipera in Iran. Salamandra 54(4): 233–248. Full article (PDF). Reference page.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Großvipern

Macrovipera is a genus of venomous vipers that inhabit the semideserts and steppes of North Africa, the Near and Middle East, and the Milos Archipelago in the Aegean Sea.[1] These snakes are responsible for a number of bites in Africa and Western Asia every year. They have a reputation for being ill-tempered and can inject a lot of venom, which is why they should be considered as very dangerous.[3] Three species are currently recognized.[4]

Description

Except for M. schweizeri, these snakes are all capable of exceeding 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in total length (body + tail).[3]

The head is broad, flat, and distinct from the neck. Dorsally, it is covered with small, irregular keeled scales. The supraoculars are also fragmented or partially divided. There seems to be a lot of variation in the different scale characteristics.[3]
Geographic range

Species of this genus are found in Morocco, Algeria and Tunis in North Africa, east to Pakistan, Kashmir and India, north to the Milos Archipelago in the Azerbaijan, Aegean Sea (Greece), Armenia and Dagestan (Russia). To the south, there is only one old record from Yemen.[3]
Habitat

Members of this genus are adapted to arid and dry habitats.[3]
Reproduction

All of these species lay eggs (oviparous).[3]
Species

Species^[1]	Taxon author^[1]	Subsp.*	Common name	Geographic range^[1]
M. lebetinus^T	(Linnaeus, 1758)	4	Blunt-nosed viper	Dagestan, Algeria, Tunisia, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Russian Caucasia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tadzikhistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir.
M. razii	Oraie, Rastegar-Pouyani, Khosrovani, Moradi, Akbari, Sehhatisabet, Shafiei, Stumpel, & Joger, 2018	0	Razi's viper	Iran (Kerman)
M. schweizeri	(F. Werner, 1935)	0	Milos viper	The Grecian islands of the Cyclades Archipelago in the Aegean Sea: Milos and the three smaller, adjacent islands of Siphnos, Kimolos and Polinos.

*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.
Taxonomy

The genus Macrovipera was created by Francis Albert Theodor Reuss (1927), specifically to accommodate M. lebetinus (the type species). The three other species currently recognized were, at one point, all regarded as subspecies of M. lebetinus. It is now likely that certain subspecies of M. lebetinus will also be elevated to valid species status in the not too distant future.[3] Regarding the geographic range of M. lebetinus, it is possible that this species is now extinct in Israel.[5]

Various species of this genus (and likewise of Vipera) have been suggested for inclusion in the genus Daboia instead, in particular M. lebetinus (Obst 1983) as well as M. mauritanica and M. deserti (Lenk et al. (2001).[6]
References

McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Dubai: Ralph Curtis Books. Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.
Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
"Macrovipera". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 August 2006.
Macrovipera lebetinus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 9 August 2007.

Lenk P, Kalyabina S, Wink M, Joger U (April 2001). "Evolutionary relationships among the true vipers (Reptilia: Viperidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 19 (1): 94–104. doi:10.1006/mpev.2001.0912. PMID 11286494.