Field's horned viper

Field's horned viper,[3] Pseudocerastes fieldi, is a venomous viper species[4] endemic to the deserts of the Middle East. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Persian horned viper. The main differences between this species and the Persian horned viper are in scalation and venom composition.

Field's horned viper
Field's horned viper in captivity
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Pseudocerastes
Species:
P. fieldi
Binomial name
Pseudocerastes fieldi
Synonyms[2]
  • Pseudocerastes fieldi
    K.P. Schmidt, 1930
  • Vipera persica fieldi
    — Marx & Rabb, 1965
  • Pseudocerastes persicus fieldi
    — Minton, Dowling & Russell, 1968
  • Daboia (Pseudocerastes) persicus fieldi
    — Obst, 1983

Taxonomy

Many sources elevate P. fieldi to species level.[1][5] The first phylogenetic study of the genus Pseudocerastes, published by Fathinia et al. in 2014, shows that P. fieldi has equal genetic distance from both P. persicus and another species of the same genus, P. urarachnoides.[6]

The specific epithet fieldi is in honor of American anthropologist Henry Field, who collected the holotype. The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and its scientific publication, Fieldiana, in which K.P. Schmidt's original description of this viper appeared, are named for Henry Field's grandfather, Marshall Field.[7]

Description

Outwardly, Field's horned viper differs from the Persian horned viper (Pseudocerastes persicus) in certain (lower) scale counts:[8]

P. fieldi P. persicus
Scales separating nasal and rostral 1 2
Dorsal scale rows at midbody 21–23 23–25
Ventral scales 127–142 144–158
Subcaudal scales 34–46 38–48

Additional differences from the Persian horned viper include much shorter (relatively to the overall body length) tail as well as the fact that while in P. persicus all dorsal and lateral scales are strongly keeled, P. fieldi has several rows of almost smooth lateral scales.[5]

Geographic distribution

According to McDiarmid et al. (1999) P. fieldi is found in the Sinai Peninsula, Israel, Jordan, northern Saudi Arabia, northwestern Iraq, and possibly in southern Syria.

The type locality given in the original description is "Bair Wells, Transjordania" [Jordan].[2]

According to Mallow et al. (2003) it is found in the Sinai Peninsula, southern Israel, Jordan, extreme northern Saudi Arabia, and southwestern Iraq.[3]

Venom

There is a more pronounced difference between the two subspecies with regard to their venom. While Persian horned viper venom exhibits strong hemorrhagic activity typical of most vipers, the venom of P. fieldi is unusual in that contains several fractions that show marked neurotoxic activity. No antivenin is available for bites from either subspecies. It is reported that a polyvalent antiserum does offer some protection from the hemotoxins, but none against the neurotoxic effects of P. fieldi venom.[3][8]

References
  1. Amr ZSS, Al Johany AMH, Baha El Din S, Disi AM, Nilson G, Werner YL (2012). "Pseudocerastes fieldi ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2012: e.T164564A1058258. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T164564A1058258.en.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 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).
  3. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
  4. "Pseudocerastes fieldi ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 August 2006.
  5. Pseudocerastes fieldi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2018-11-02.
  6. Fathinia B; et al. (2014). "Molecular systematics of the genus Pseudocerastes (Ophidia: Viperidae) based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene". Turkish Journal of Zoology. 38 (5): 575–581. doi:10.3906/zoo-1308-25.
  7. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pseudocerastes fieldi, p. 89).
  8. Spawls S, Branch B (1995). The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Dubai: Ralph Curtis Books. Oriental Press. 192 pp. ISBN 0-88359-029-8.

Further reading
  • Duméril AMC, Bibron G, Duméril AHA (1854). Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie, comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris: Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret. pp. i–xii + 781–1536. (Cerastes persicus, new species, pp. 1443–1444). (in French).
  • Joger U (1984). "The venomous snakes of the Near and Middle East". Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, A 12. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.
  • Lehmann M (1982). "Pseudocerastes persicus fieldi (Schmidt) im Terrarium". Herpetofauna 4 (21): 20–22. (in German).
  • Marx H, Rabb GB. 1965. Relationships and Zoogeography of the Viperine Snakes (Family Viperidae). Fieldiana Zool. 44 (21): 161–206.
  • Obst FJ (1983). "Zur Kenntnis der Schlangengattung Vipera". Zool. Abh. staatl. Mus. Tierkunde Dresden 38: 229–235. (in German).
  • Schmidt KP (1930). "Reptiles of Marshall Field North Arabian Desert Expeditions, 1927–1928". Fieldiana Zool. 17 (6): 221–130. (Pseudocerastes fieldi, new species, pp. 227–229 + Figure 2).

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