Taxonomy
There is high genetic diversity within samples of V. ursinii and several species may be involved. At least six subspecies may be encountered in modern literature:
- V. u. ursinii (Bonaparte, 1835)
- V. u. eriwanensis (Reuss, 1933)
- V. u. graeca Nilson & Andrén, 1988
- V. u. macrops Méhely, 1911
- V. u. moldavica Nilson, Andrén & Joger, 1993
- V. u. rakosiensis Méhely, 1893
- V. u. renardi Christoph, 1861
Golay et al. (1993) recognize the first four, while Mallow et al. (2003) recognize five and list V. eriwanensis and V. renardi as valid species. However, McDiarmid et al. (1999), and thus ITIS, feel that more definitive data is necessary before any subspecies can be recognized.
Read more about this topic: Vipera Ursinii