Vipera aspis atra

Vipera aspis atra is a venomous viper subspecies^[3] endemic to France, Switzerland and Italy.^[4]

Vipera aspis atra
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. aspis
Subspecies:	V. a. atra
Trinomial name
Vipera aspis atra Meisner, 1820
Synonyms[1]
Vipera atra Meisner, 1820 Vipera aspis atra — Meisner, 1820 Vipera aspis var. nigra Bonaparte, 1834 Vipera aspis var. rubriventris Bonaparte, 1834 Vipera aspis var. nigra — Massalongo, 1854 Vipera aspis var. immaculata — Calderini, 1878 Vipera aspis var. Calderinii De Betta, 1879 [Vipera aspis] var. infernalis F. Müller, 1880 Mesovipera morathi lepontica A.F. Reuss, 1938 Vipera (Rhinaspis) aspis atra — Obst, 1983 Vipera aspis typus Golay et al., 1993

Common names: black asp, black viper.^[2]

Geographic range

It is found in western Switzerland, northwestern Italy, Spain, and southeastern France.^[4] Mallow et al. (2003) describe the range only as "portions of Switzerland".^[5]

Conservation status

This subspecies is classified as Vulnerable (VU) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).^[6][7]

Taxonomy

A recent study by Ursenbacher et al. (2006) suggests that V. a. atra may not be a valid subspecies.^[6]