Echis carinatus astolae
Encyclopedia
- Common names: Astola saw-scaled viper.
Echis carinatus astolae is a venomous
Venomous snake
"Poisonous snake" redirects here. For true poisonous snakes, see Rhabdophis.Venomous snakes are snakes which have venom glands and specialized teeth for the injection of venom...
viper
Viperinae
The Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the Crotalinae. Currently, 12 genera and 66 species are recognized...
subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
endemic to Astola Island
Astola
Astola Island, also known as Jezira Haft Talar ) or 'island of the seven hills' or satadip, is a small, uninhabited island in the Arabian Sea, in the territorial waters of Pakistan, some 25 km south of Pakistan's nearest coastline and 39 km southeast of the Pakistani fishing port of Pasni...
off the coast of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Description
The color pattern consists of a series of dark brown dorsal blotches on a whitish background, laterally 1-3 rows of dark brown spots with no light arcs. On the head, there is a three-pronged, light mark directed towards the snout. From the temporalsTemporal scales
In reptiles, the temporal scales are those scales on the side of the head between the parietal scales and the supralabial scales, and behind the postocular scales.There are two types of temporal scales:...
, a light lateral line meets at frontal region, giving a branch to the snout.
Geographic range
Found only on Astola IslandAstola
Astola Island, also known as Jezira Haft Talar ) or 'island of the seven hills' or satadip, is a small, uninhabited island in the Arabian Sea, in the territorial waters of Pakistan, some 25 km south of Pakistan's nearest coastline and 39 km southeast of the Pakistani fishing port of Pasni...
, off the coast of Makran
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The type locality is therefore the same: "Insel Astola, Makrankuste, West-Pakistan" [Astola Island (25o 07'N; 63o 51'E) off the Makran coast, Pakistan].