Geographic Variability and Taxonomy of the Nose-horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes (L. 1758), in the Central and Eastern Parts of the Balkans: A Multivariate Study

Abstract

A multivariate analyses of various morphological characters (morphometric, meristic and qualitative) of nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) revealed a complex morphological differentiation of populations from the central and the eastern Balkan Peninsula. Analyses of quantitative data showed no clear morphological discrimination or well-defined taxonomical units. On the contrary, analyses of qualitative traits separated two discrete taxa in the analysed area. One, inhabiting the eastern and the southern part of the Balkans, includes samples from most parts of Bulgaria, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and south-eastern Serbia, whereas the other ranges from north-western Bulgaria through the main part of Serbia (except the south-east) to Montenegro.