Vipera aspis hugyi

Vipera aspis hugyi is a venomous viper subspecies^[4] endemic to southern Italy.^[5]

Vipera aspis hugyi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. aspis
Subspecies:	V. a. hugyi
Trinomial name
Vipera aspis hugyi Schinz, 1833
Synonyms[1]
Vipera Hugyi Schinz, 1833 Vipera Hugyii Schinz, 1833 Vipera Heegeri Schreiber, 1875 V[ipera]. Hugii F. Müller, 1880 Vipera aspis var. hugii — De Betta, 1883 Vipera aspis var. hugyi — Schreiber, 1912 Vipera latastei var. hugyi — Calabresi, 1924 Vipera aspis forma trans. rudolphi-italica A.F. Reuss, 1924 Vipera aspis hugyi — Mertens & L. Müller, 1928 Rhinaspis (Latasteopara) ocellata hugii — A.F. Reuss, 1935 Vipera ammodytes hugyi — Schwarz, 1936 Vipera aspis montecristi Mertens, 1956 Vipera (Rhinaspis) aspis hugyi — Obst, 1983 Vipera (Rhinaspis) aspis montecristi — Obst, 1983

Common names: Southern Italian asp,^[2] South-Italian asp viper,^[3] more.

Description

Usually, it is marked with a fused zigzag stripe and has a distinctly raised snout. Specimens from Montecristo Island, sometimes referred to as V. a. montecristi, are similar, but with a reduced tendency for the dorsal markings to fuse.^[6]

Common names

The species is also known as the Southern Italian asp,^[2] the South-Italian asp viper,^[3] or Hugy's viper.^[7] Previously, several other common names were used to describe a subspecies that is now part of the synonymy of this form, the Monte Cristo viper^[2] or Monte Cristo asp viper^[3] for Vipera aspis montecristi.

Geographic range

It is found in Italy in Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily and Montecristo Island.^[5]