Vipera orlovi

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	REPTILIA	SQUAMATA	VIPERIDAE

Scientific Name:

Vipera orlovi

Species Authority:

Tuniyev & Ostrovskikh, 2001

Common Name/s:

English

–

Orlov's Viper

Taxonomic Notes:

This species is within the subgenus Pelias (Nilson et al. 1999).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Critically Endangered B1ab(i,v); C2a(i) ver 3.1
Year Published:	2009
Assessor/s:	Boris Tuniyev, Goren Nilson, Aram Agasyan, Nikolai Orlov, and Sako Tuniyev
Reviewer/s:	Neil Cox and Helen Temple
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Critically Endangered because its Extent of Occurrence is less than 100 km2, its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is continuing decline in the extent of occurrence and number of mature individuals is severely reduced due to overcollecting for the pet trade. In addition it is estimated that less than 250 mature individuals remain with little connectivity between subpopulations (each with less than 50 individuals).

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is endemic to the Caucasus region, where it occurs in the Black Sea coastal area of Russia. It is distributed in the Krasnodar Territory and covers the both slopes of the lowest north-western part of the Great Caucasus from Papai mountain in the west to the peak of Bol'shoy Pseushkho mountain in the east. It has been recorded between 200 and 950m asl.
Countries:	Native: Russian Federation
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is considered to be extremely rare.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Populations have been recorded from different Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean habitats. These range from intrazonal clearings near to rivers, up to meadows, transformed steppes and the juniper forest ecotones.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species is highly threatened by overcollection of animals for the pet trade.

Major Threat(s):

This species is highly threatened by overcollection of animals for the pet trade.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species has not been recorded from any protected areas, and there is need to establish suitably managed reserves for this species. There is a need for further general research into the distribution and natural history of this species, and to develop conservation legislation and education programmes within the species range. There is a need to regulate trade in this species, and populations of this species should be monitored to record changes in abundance and distribution.

Conservation Actions:

This species has not been recorded from any protected areas, and there is need to establish suitably managed reserves for this species. There is a need for further general research into the distribution and natural history of this species, and to develop conservation legislation and education programmes within the species range. There is a need to regulate trade in this species, and populations of this species should be monitored to record changes in abundance and distribution.

Citation:	Boris Tuniyev, Goren Nilson, Aram Agasyan, Nikolai Orlov, and Sako Tuniyev 2009. Vipera orlovi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 June 2013.
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