Macrovipera lebetina transmediterranea
Encyclopedia
Common names: (none).

Macrovipera lebetina transmediterranea 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...

 found only in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 and Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

.

Description

This subspecies is not known to exceed 1 m in length. It is further distinguished by having only 25 midbody dorsal scale rows, a lower ventral scale count of 150-164 scales and more fragmented head scales. The color pattern is light gray with 34-41 transverse bars that are each 2-3 scales wide.

Geographic range

North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

: restricted to the coastal mountains of Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 and Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

. One of the few specific localities where they are known to occur is Djebel Murdjaro near Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...

 in western Algeria. This subspecies may be sympatric with M. deserti
Macrovipera deserti
Macrovipera deserti is a venomous viper species found in North Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.- Common names :Desert viper, Libyan desert blunt-nosed viper, desert adder, Sahara adder, Sahara viper.- Geographic range :...

 and/or M. mauritanica
Macrovipera mauritanica
Macrovipera mauritanica is a venomous viper species found in northwestern Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.- Description :Reaches a maximum length of 180 cm.- Common names :...

.
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