Moorish viper
Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Daboia mauritanica

The Moorish viper (Daboia mauritanica or Macrovipera mauritanica ; common names: Moorish viper, Sahara rock viper, Atlas blunt-nosed viper, more) is a venomous viper species found in northwestern Africa. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Animal name origin

Moorish viper, Sahara rock viper, Atlas blunt-nosed viper, Atlas adder, mountain adder.

Appearance

Reaches a maximum length of 180 cm.

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Biogeographical realms

Northwestern Africa: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The type locality is "Algiers", according to Gray (1842), "Algeria" according to Schwarz (1936). Limited to the coastal regions of Algeria. Coastal records from Tunisia may refer to M. deserti.

Moorish viper habitat map
Moorish viper habitat map

Habits and Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Diet and Nutrition

Population

Population number

This species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001). Classified as such because this species is likely in significant decline (but at a rate of less than 30% over ten years) due to persecution, accidental mortality and over-harvesting, therefore making it close to qualifying for Vulnerable. The population trend is down. Year assessed: 2005.

References

1. Moorish viper Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorish_viper
2. Moorish viper on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/61494/12481914

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