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Daboia palaestinae

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This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 18 September 2024.

Daboia palaestinae, also known as the Palestine viper,[3][4][5][6] is a viper species endemic to the Levant.[2][5] Like all vipers, it is venomous. It is considered a leading cause of snakebite within its range.[7] No subspecies are currently recognized.[8]

Daboia palaestinae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Daboia
Species:
D. palaestinae
Binomial name
Daboia palaestinae
F. Werner, 1938
Synonyms[2]
  • Vipera palaestinae F. Werner, 1938
  • Vipera xanthina palaestinae
    — Mertens, 1952
  • Vipera palistinae [sic] Minton, 1971
  • Daboia (Daboia) palaestinae
    — Obst, 1983
  • Daboia palestinae [sic]
    — Esterbauer, 1987
  • Vipera palgestinae [sic]
    Garcia, Huang & Perez, 1989
  • Vipera palaestinae
    — Golay et al., 1993

Description

 
D. palaestinae

It grows to an average total length (body + tail) of 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 in), with a maximum total length of 130 cm (51 in).[3] The head is triangular, distinct from the neck and covered by small scales. The upper part of the body is colored by large dark rhomboid blotches sometimes forming a zig-zag pattern.[9]

The harmless coin-marked snake, which lives in the same areas as the Palestine viper, resembles it in length, coloration and defensive behavior, to the extent that people frequently get confused between them. This is probably a case of Batesian mimicry.[10]

Geographic range

It is found in northern and central Israel, Palestine, western Syria, northwestern Jordan, and Lebanon.[2][5][6] In 2017 a specimen was found in Turkey.[11] Mallow et al. (2003) describe the range as relatively restricted, with the distribution being concentrated in the Mediterranean coastal plains to the inland hills of Lebanon and Israel, along with the adjoining regions of Syria and Jordan.[3]

The type locality given is "Haifa, Israel".[2]

Conservation status

This species is classified as Least Concern (LC) according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).[6] It was given this status due to its relatively wide distribution, the fact that it is found in a wide range of habitats, its presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend is unknown. Year assessed: 2005.[12]

Taxonomy

The classification of this species has resulted in much taxonomic controversy. Before Franz Werner (1938), this snake was included in Montivipera xanthina, and subsequently synonymized with V. lebetina by Boulenger (1896). Mertens (1952) moved it back to M. xanthina as a subspecies, and more recently a number of authorities, including Obst (1983) and Mallow et al. (2003) have included it as part of the genus Daboia.[3] The result is that many studies related to this medically significant species have been published under different scientific names.[3]

Venom

The LD50 of this viper's venom is 0.34 mg/kg.[13] Since the second half of the 20th century there is an antivenom for this snake's venom, which is considered safe and effective.[14][15] But occasionally people still die from this snake's bite. The mortality rate of people who were bitten is 0.5% to 2%.[16] At least 7 people were reported to die of this snake's bite in the 21st century in Israel so far.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

The venom includes at least four families of pharmacologically active compounds: (i) neurotoxins; (ii) hemorrhagins; (iii) angioneurin growth factors; and (iv) different types of integrin inhibitors.[16]

Reproduction

The copulation of this snake takes place around May.[24] Unlike most other vipers, who are viviparous,[25] this snake is oviparous.[24] It lays eggs around August and the eggs hatch 1.5–2 months after that.[26][24] The young snakes can bite and kill their prey with a developed venom apparatus.[26]

In culture

This snake is probably mentioned in a list of venomous snakes in ancient Egypt, that appears in the Brooklyn Papyrus from the first millennium BC.[27]

Some modern scholars and commentators have identified the צפע (pronounced Tsefa/Zefa) snake mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as this snake species.[26][28] The name given to this snake in modern Hebrew is צפע מצוי (common Tsefa).[29]

The code phrase “Nahash Tsefa” (Viper Snake) was broadcast on the radio and TV to instruct Israeli citizens to put on their gas masks during missile attacks from Iraq against Israel, in the first Gulf War in 1991.[30]

In the Israeli Air Force the Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter was named Tzefa.[31] The IDF's paratroopers battalion #202 is called Tzefa Battalion.[32]

In 2018 the viper was declared Israel's national snake.[33]

References

  1. ^ Hraoui-Bloquet, S.; Sadek, R.; Werner, Y. (2009). "Daboia palaestinae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T61495A12482149. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T61495A12482149.en. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. ^ a b c d e Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN 0-89464-877-2.
  4. ^ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
  5. ^ a b c O'Shea, Mark (2008). Venomous Snakes of the World (Illustrated ed.). New Holland Publishers. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-84773-086-2.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b c Daboia palaestinae at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 2 September 2007.
  7. ^ U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
  8. ^ "Vipera palaestinae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  9. ^ El‐Oran, Ratib M.; Al‐Melhem, Walid N.; Amr, Zuhair S. (1994-01-01). "Snakes of southern Jordan". Bollettino di zoologia. 61 (4): 364. doi:10.1080/11250009409355907. ISSN 0373-4137.
  10. ^ Yehuda L. Werner & Eliezer Frankenberg (1982), HEAD TRIANGULATION IN TWO COLUBRINE SNAKES: PROBABLE BEHAVIOURAL REINFORCEMENT OF BATESIAN MIMICRY, Israel Journal of Zoology, 31:3-4, 137-150, DOI: 10.1080/00212210.1982.10688526
  11. ^ Göçmen, B., Karış, M., Özmen, E. and Oğuz, M. A. (2018). First record of the Palestine Viper Vipera palaestinae (Sepentes: Viperidae) from Anatolia. South Western Journal of Horticulture, Biology and Environment, 9: 87–90.
  12. ^ 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1) at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 2 September 2007.
  13. ^ Senji Laxme, R. R.; Khochare, Suyog; Attarde, Saurabh; Kaur, Navneet; Jaikumar, Priyanka; Shaikh, Naeem Yusuf; Aharoni, Reuven; Primor, Naftali; Hawlena, Dror; Moran, Yehu; Sunagar, Kartik (2022). "The Middle Eastern Cousin: Comparative Venomics of Daboia palaestinae and Daboia russelii". Toxins. 14 (11): 725. doi:10.3390/toxins14110725. ISSN 2072-6651. PMC 9696752.
  14. ^ Bentur, Yedidia; Raikhlin-Eisenkraft, Bianca; Galperin, Maya (2004). "Evaluation of antivenom therapy in Vipera palaestinae bites". Toxicon. 44 (1): 53–57. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.04.006. ISSN 0041-0101.
  15. ^ Pivko-Levy, Dikla; Munchnak, Itamar; Rimon, Ayelet; Balla, Uri; Scolnik, Dennis; Hoyte, Christopher; Voliovitch, Yair; Glatstein, Miguel (2017). "Evaluation of antivenom therapy for Vipera palaestinae bites in children: experience of two large, tertiary care pediatric hospitals". Clinical Toxicology. 55 (4): 235–240. doi:10.1080/15563650.2016.1277233. ISSN 1556-9519. PMID 28103732.
  16. ^ a b Momic, Tatjana; Arlinghaus, Franziska T.; Arien-Zakay, Hadar; Katzhendler, Jeoshua; Eble, Johannes A.; Marcinkiewicz, Cezary; Lazarovici, Philip (2011-11-14). "Pharmacological Aspects of Vipera xantina palestinae Venom". Toxins. 3 (11): 1420–1432. doi:10.3390/toxins3111420. ISSN 2072-6651. PMC 3237004. PMID 22174978.
  17. ^ מאיר, עופר (2004-05-09). "בן 51 שהוכש על ידי נחש צפע מת בביה"ח". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  18. ^ אזולאי, יובל (2006-05-28). "בן 73 מת מנכישת נחש". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  19. ^ אופיר, שרון רופא (2008-06-07). "תושב שבי ציון הוכש למוות ע"י נחש צפע". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  20. ^ ראב"ד, אחיה (2013-06-21). "נחש הכיש למוות גבר בקמפינג בכנרת". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  21. ^ ראב"ד, ד"ר איתי גל ואחיה (2015-07-01). "טרגדיה בצפון: צעירה מתה מהכשת נחש". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  22. ^ שפיגל, נעה; רינת, צפריר (2018-05-13). "תושב הצפון מת לאחר שהוכש על ידי נחש צפע". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  23. ^ שעלאן, אחיה ראב"ד וחסן (2018-10-22). "אישה הוכשה למוות בידי נחש ליד בנימינה". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  24. ^ a b c H. Mendelssohn (1963) ON THE BIOLOGY OF THE VENOMOUS SNAKES OF ISRAEL, Israel Journal of Zoology, 12:1-4, 143-170, DOI: 10.1080/00212210.1963.10688178
  25. ^ Ineich, I.; Bonnet, X.; Shine, R.; Shine, T.; Brischoux, F.; Lebreton, M.; Chirio, L. (2006-12-04). "What, if anything, is a 'typical' viper? Biological attributes of basal viperid snakes (genus Causus Wagler, 1830): BIOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES OF BASAL VIPERID SNAKES". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 89 (4): 575–588. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00690.x.
  26. ^ a b c Shulov, Aharon (1966), Biology and Ecology of Venomous Animals in Israel, Memorias do Instituto Butantan 33(1):93-94
  27. ^ McBride, Elysha; Winder, Isabelle C.; Wüster, Wolfgang (2023-10-07). "What Bit the Ancient Egyptians? Niche Modelling to Identify the Snakes Described in the Brooklyn Medical Papyrus". Environmental Archaeology: 1–14. doi:10.1080/14614103.2023.2266631. ISSN 1461-4103.
  28. ^ Murison, Ross G. (1905). "The Serpent in the Old Testament". The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures. 21 (2): 119–120. ISSN 1062-0516.
  29. ^ "צֶפַע". Academy of the Hebrew Language (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  30. ^ "This Week in History: Saddam terrorizes Israel". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2012-01-15. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  31. ^ Boyne, Walter J. (January 2013). "Airpower Classics" (PDF). Air Force Magazine. Air Force Association: 84. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.
  32. ^ "Paratroopers Brigade". IDF Official Site. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  33. ^ JTA (November 3, 2018). "Deadly Palestine Viper declared Israel's national snake". The Times of Israel. Retrieved November 4, 2018.

Further reading

  • Golay P, Smith HM, Broadley DG [fr], Dixon JR, McCarthy CJ, Rage J-C, Schätti B, Toriba M. 1993. Endoglyphs and Other Venomous Snakes of the World. Geneva: Azemiops. 478 pp.
  • Werner F. 1938. Eine verkannte Viper ( Vipera palaestinae n. sp.). Zoologischer Anzeiger 122: 313-318.
 
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