Melanistic ammo?

[Borji Heras]

Here is it , the horn isnt very pronuncied . . . Might be a melanistic aspis balcanica :p

[Ilias Strachinis]

the last one's not an ammodytes for sure.

[Borji Heras]

In my book sais that its from Stirnic (resita) - Romania
Looks much more like the typical melanistic aspis,ammodytes montandoni hasnt a very pronunced horn if u compare with meridionalis f.e. But the head is much more broad.

[Lucas Schmeißing]

Very interesting, I've found an reference to Heckes et al. 2005 for melanistic ammodytes.
Maybe someone can help?

Lucas

[Mario Schweiger]

Heckes et al. 2005 = HECKES, U., H.-J. GRUBER & N. STÜMPEL (2005): Vipera (Vipera) ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) - Hornotter, Sandviper.- Handbuch d. Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Bd. 3/II B: Schlangen (Serpentes) 3: Viperidae. pp. 81 - 150 (PDF-5283 in DB)

regarding melanistic ammodytes, refer to FUHN (1986), GHIRA (1992) and a pers. comm. from J. MULDER.

The FUHN, 1986 paper I should get during this week.
GHIRA, 1992 (PDF-5672 in DB) refers to one specimen from Carinthia, Austria (but all black Austrian "ammodytes" have strong reduced horns and are regarded to be ammodytes-berus hybrids) and to the specimen mentioned by FUHN.
He also reports on 3 melanistic specimens from Boiu de Sus, Romania (seen, one collected). But at least the collected one was not realy melanistic, had a reduced horn and only one row of suboculars (seen at the SEH OGM in Budapest).

Mario

[Mario Schweiger]

Heckes et al. 2005 = HECKES, U., H.-J. GRUBER & N. STÜMPEL (2005): Vipera (Vipera) ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) - Hornotter, Sandviper.- Handbuch d. Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Bd. 3/II B: Schlangen (Serpentes) 3: Viperidae. pp. 81 - 150 (PDF-5283 in DB)

regarding melanistic ammodytes, refer to FUHN (1986), GHIRA (1992) and a pers. comm. from J. MULDER.

The FUHN, 1986 paper I should get during this week.
GHIRA, 1992 (PDF-5672 in DB) refers to one specimen from Carinthia, Austria (but all black Austrian "ammodytes" have strong reduced horns and are regarded to be ammodytes-berus hybrids) and to the specimen mentioned by FUHN.
He also reports on 3 melanistic specimens from Boiu de Sus, Romania (seen, one collected). But at least the collected one was not realy melanistic, had a reduced horn and only one row of suboculars (seen at the SEH OGM in Budapest).

Mario

The FUHN 1986 paper is online now:
MELANISM SI ANOMALII ALE FOLIDOZEI LA UN EXEMPLAR DE VIPERA AMMODYTES AMMODYTES (L., 1758) (VIPERIDAE, SERPENTES, REPTILIA) DIN IMPREJURIMILE ORASULUI RESITA.- Studii si cercetari de Biologie. Seria Biologie Animala 38(1): 7 - 10.
Abstract:

Code: Select all

Melanism and lepidosis anomalies in a specimen of Vipera ammodytes ammodytes (Viperidae, Serpentes, Reptilia) in the Resita area (Romania).
In the surroundings of Resita (Stirnic), a melanic snake was collected (ing. R. Ziegler), amidst a populalion of Vipera ammodytes ammodytes. Melanism is very rare in nose-horned vipers, but the male found in Stirnic has also a reduced nasal process of the "aspis"-type and well developed cephalic plates— frontal and parietal. Biometric data and the pholidosis of this viper are given. We share the opinion of Biella (1983) and of some earlier authors, that the abnormal characters of some nose-horned vipers are of atavistic origin and not mixed characters resulting from a hybridization ammodyles X berus. An important argument is the fact that hybrid-like snakes occur also in zones where berus is missing (like Resita). We consider equally as atavism the few Balkanic vipers described as V. aspis and V. aspis balcanica.

PDF-6198 in DB

Mario