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Moorish viper
Species of snake From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 viper species found in northwestern Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5]
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Description
Common names
Moorish viper,[2] Sahara rock viper,[3] Atlas blunt-nosed viper,[4] Atlas adder,[7] mountain adder.[3]
Geographic range
Northwestern Africa: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The type locality is "Algiers", according to Gray (1842), "Algeria" according to Schwarz (1936).[1] Limited to the coastal regions of Algeria. Coastal records from Tunisia may refer to M. deserti.[6]
Conservation status
This species 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]
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Taxonomy
Based on molecular evidence, Lenk et al. (2001)[10] suggested that this species, along with M. deserti, should rather be included in the genus Daboia.
References
External links
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