Common names: Siberian pit viper,Gloyd HK, Conant R (1990). Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 614 pp. 52 plates. LCCN 89-50342. . Halys viper,Gotch, Arthur Frederick (1986). Reptiles – Their Latin Names Explained. Poole, UK: Blandford Press. 176 pp. . Halys pit viper,Steward JW (1971). The Snakes of Europe. Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated University Press (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press). 238 pp. LCCCN 77-163307. . more.
Gloydius halys is a pit viper species found within a wide range that stretches across Asia, from Russia, east of the Urals, eastwards through China. Four subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominotypical form described here.
Description Gloydius halys grows to a maximum total length of , which was for a female, with an included tail length of . The largest male on record measured in total length, which included a tail length of . The body build is described as moderately stout with a snout that is slightly upturned when viewed from the side.
Dorsally, G. halys is grayish, pale brown, reddish, or yellowish, with large dark spots or crossbars, the borders of which are serrated. One or two lateral series of smaller dark spots are present. There is a wide dark stripe behind the eye, bordered by light stripes both above and below. The venter is whitish, speckled with gray or brown.
The strongly keeled dorsal scales are arranged in 23 rows at midbody. The ventrals number 149-174. The anal plate is entire. The subcaudals number 31-44, and are divided (paired).Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Ancistrodon halys, pp. 524–525).
Common names Common names for G. halys include Siberian pit viper, Halys viper, Halys pit viper, Pallas's pit viper, Asiatic pit viper, Asiatic moccasin, shchitomordnik,Brown, John Haynes (1973). Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. . Pallas's viper, Pallas pit viper, Korean pit viper, Mongolian pit viper.U.S. Navy (1991). Poisonous Snakes of the World. New York: U.S. Government / Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. .
Geographic range Gloydius halys is found in Russia, east of the Ural Mountains through Siberia, Iran, Mongolia to northern and central China, as well as the southern Ryukyu Islands of Japan. According to Gloyd and Conant (1990), the type locality given is "Salt Lake near the Lugaskoi Sawod (factory) on the Upper Yenisey" (Siberia, Russia). Redefined by Bour (1993) as "Naryn or Ryn Peski desert, near the Russia-Kazakhstan border".
Subspecies SubspeciesTaxon authorCommon nameGumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. First Edition. Berlin: Geitje Books. 368 pp. .Geographic rangeG. h. boehmeiNilson, 1983Boehme's pitviperKnown only from the type locality: Andarab valley, province of Baghlan, at 2,500 m altitude, eastern Afghanistan.G. h. halys(Pallas, 1776)Siberian pitviperSouthern Siberia and Mongolia, from the Zeya River west to longitude 74° E.G. h. mogoiBour, 1993Western Mongolia.G. h. ubsunurensisKropachev & Orlov, 2017West and South Mongolia and Tuva Republic, Russia.
Etymology The subspecific name, boehmei, is in honor of German herpetologist Wolfgang Böhme.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Gloydius halys boehmei, p. 30).
References
Further reading Pallas PS (1776). "Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des russischen Reichs ". Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, St. Petersburg 3. (Coluber halys, new species, p. 703). (in German and Latin).
External links