Vipera nikolskii


 * Common names: Nikolsky's adder, forest-steppe adder. 

Vipera nikolskii is a venomous viper species found in Ukraine, eastern Romania, and southwestern Russia. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Etymology
The specific name, nikolskii, is in honor of Russian herpetologist Alexander Mikhailovich Nikolsky.

Description
Adults of V. nikolskii are short and thick-bodied, growing to a maximum total length (including tail) of 680 mm.

Holotype: ZDKU 14704, according to Golay et al. (1993).

Geographic range
Vipera nikolskii is spread in Central Ukraine and southwestern Russia. Mallow et al. (2003) mention that the distribution is concentrated in the forest-steppe zone of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine.

The type locality, according to Golay et al. (1993), is the banks of the Uda River, between Besljudovka and Vasishtshevo, near Kharkiv.

Also, Vipera nikolskii was recently found in the eastern and southern part of Romania and Basarabia (Republic of Moldova) by Zinenko et al. (2010) and Strugariu & Zamfirescu (2008).It recently occurred on a ridge in the Low Tatras, Slovakia