First record and range extension of Field's horned viper, Pseudocerastes fieldi Schmidt, 1930 (Squamata: Viperidae), from Fars province, southern Iran
Based on extensive research, the first record of Field's horned viper, Pseudocerastes fieldi Schmidt, 1930 from Fars province, southern Iran, is presented.
First record and range extension of Field's horned viper, Pseudocerastes fieldi Schmidt, 1930 (Squamata: Viperidae), from Fars province, southern Iran
The false horned vipers of the genus Pseudocerastes Boulenger, 1896 form a group of horned viper species with horn-like structures above their eyes that are made up of numerous small scales. The head is distinct from the neck, covered with small scales. Pupils vertical; nostrils directed outwards and upwards, in large undivided nasal shield. Supralabials with serrated lower margin and with inner groove to receive lower lip; body scales in 21-25 longitudinal rows, none obliquely disposed; keels on body scales do not reach posterior edge of scale but end in swollen knob before outer edge, keels not serrated; ventrals rounded, without lateral keels; tail short, subcaudals paired (Leviton et al., 1992). Its distribution is the North Arabian Desert from Sinai and southern Israel, Jordan, Iraq, southwestern Iran east to Afghanistan, and Pakistan west of the Indus River, with an outlying population in northern Oman (Bostanchi et al., 2006). P. fieldi has been reported from Sinai, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and southwestern Iran (Bostanchi et al., 2006). The type specimen of P. fieldi is from Bair Wells, Transjordan (Leviton et al., 1992). In Iran, it has been reported from Kermanshah province (Latifi, 2000) and Bushehr province (Bostanchi et al., 2006) to date. In October 2008 during field work on the fauna of Mohr (in Fars province), a single specimen of P. fieldi was collected from the place called ‘Khelleh’ (27°33′N, 52°58′E; alt. 980 m), in a mountainous area between Narman and Bardakuyeh villages, 10 km from the city of Mohr, in the southwestern regions of Fars province (southern Iran) (Figures 1 and 2). The collected specimen of P. fieldi is now deposited in the Collection of the Biology Department of Shiraz University (CBSU) under museum number CBSUC897.