Distribution of the subgenus Acridophaga Reuss, 1927 (Serpentes: Viperidae) in Iran

Two localities for Vipera eriiuanensis are reported. Examination of four specime ns of Vipera (A cridophaLf!,a) from the northwestern of Iran showed the occurrence of Vipera eriiuanensis on Kiama ki Mountain, adjacent to the Armenian border and on th e eastern slope of Sab alan Mountain. In th e western and central Alb orz, Vip era ebneri is present. The Vipera nrsinii complex (Acnodophaga) has a complicated taxonomic history. Among the Vipera nrsinii complex, wh ich includes taxa o f northeastern Turkey, T ran scaucasia, and north and no rthwestern Iran, Reuss (1933) provided a rudimentary description of a single spe cimen of Acridophaga renardi erhuanensis from near Erivan , Knopfler and Sochurek (1955) describ ed Vipera ursini: ebneti from central Alborz ncar Damavand Moun tain in I ran . Various autho rs expresse d the opinion th at the mountain steppe vipers distributed in northwest ern Iran, Tran scauc asia, and northeastern Turkey are o f this taxo n (Saint Girons, 1978; Str eet, 1979; Welch, 1983).Joger (1984) re-evaluated enn/anensis fro m the o riginal de scription of Reu ss and identified steppe vipe rs o f the area as Vipera ursinii eriiuanensis. This taxonomic ch ange was accepted by later herpetologists (G olay et al., 1993; Gruber, 1989). During th is time, Vipera ursinii ebneti was identified as Vipera ursinii eriiuanensis. Hoggren et a1. (1993) raised the subspecies to a full species rank. Finally, in a com prehe nsive review o f both taxa, Nilson and Andren (2001) raised it to full spe cies. In this rep or t, we follow Nilso n and Andren (200 1) and recognize V ipera ebneri and Vipera erituanensis bas ed on a combination of meristic ancl colo r pattern ch aract eristics. Vipera ebneri has a lower count o f ve ntral and subcaudal scales th an Vipera entuanensis. In addition, supralabials o f 'Vipera ebneri arc uncolored, while in Vipera ernuanensis they arc darkly spo tted along th eir margin s.