Lataste's Viper
Vipera latastei
Vipera latastei, also known commonly as Lataste's viper, the snub-nosed viper, and the snub-nosed adder, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to the Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Maghreb. Three extant subspecies and one extinct subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
From the article Vipera latastei on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
V. latastei grows to a maximum total length (including tail) of about 72 cm (28.3 in), but usually less. It is grey in colour, has a triangular head, a "horn" on the tip of its nose, and a zig-zag pattern on its back. The tip of the tail is yellow.
Range & habitat
V. latastei is found in southwestern Europe (Portugal and Spain) and northwestern Africa (the Mediterranean region of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). It is possibly extinct in Tunisia. The type locality given is "Ciudad Real ", emended to "Valencia, Spanien " (Valencia, Spain) by Mertens and L. Müller (1928).
Wikipedia: “Geographic range”
What it does
V. latastei can be seen day or night but is usually hidden under rocks. The yellow tip of the tail is possibly used to lure prey.
Wikipedia: “Behaviour”
In human culture
The specific name latastei, is in honor of Boscá's French colleague, herpetologist Fernand Lataste, who would a year later return him the honor, by naming after him a discovery of his own, Boscá's newt (Lissotriton boscai).
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Vipera latastei in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 30924.