Vipera monticola, also known as the Atlas mountain viper,Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is a viper species endemic to Morocco. Like all other vipers, it is venomous.
Description The Atlas mountain viper (Vipera monticola) is a very small species with a maximum total length (body + tail) of less than .Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Spawls and Branch (1995) describe it as the smallest member of the genus Vipera, reaching a total length of only .
Geographic range It is found in the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco.
The type locality given is "Haut-Atlas, Massif du Toubkal, Maroc...qu'entre 2.500 et 3.900 m " [Toubkal Massif, High Atlas Mountains, southwestern Morocco, between 8,200 and 12,800 ft].
Conservation status This species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001). Listed as such because its extent of occurrence is likely not much more than 20,000 km2, and the extent and quality of its habitat are probably declining, therefore making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable. Year assessed: 2005.
References
Further reading Beerli P, Billing H, Schätti B. 1986. Taxonomisches Status von Vipera latasti monticola Saint Girons, 1953 (Serpentes, Viperidae). Salamandra 22: 101-104. Klemmer K. 1963. Liste der rezenten Giftschlangen: Elapidae, Hydropheidae, Viperidae und Crotalidae. Marburg: N.G. Elwert. 210 pp. Saint-Girons H. 1953. Une vipère naine: Vipera latastei montana. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 78: 24-28. Saint-Girons H. 1954. Note rectificative au sujet de Vipera latastei montana, n. subsp. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 78: 475. (Vipera latastei monticola, replacement name.)
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