Gloydius intermedius

{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Speciesbox | image = Gloydius intermedius by Nick Longrich.jpg | image_caption = In Gobi Desert, Mongolia | taxon = Gloydius intermedius | authority = (Strauch, 1868) | synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}} * ''Trigonocephalus halys'' – Ménétries, 1832 (part) * ''Trigonocephalus blomhoffii'' – Maack, 1859 (part) * ''Trigonocephalus affinis'' – Günther, 1860 (part) * ''Trigonocephalus intermedius'' Strauch, 1868 * ''Halys intermedius'' – W. Peters, 1877 * ''Ancistrodon intermedius'' – Boulenger, 1896 * ''Agkistrodon blomhoffii intermedius'' – Stejneger, 1907 * ''Ancistrodon blomhoffii intermedius'' – Despax, 1913 * ''Ancistrodon halys intermedius'' – Nikolski, 1916 * ''Agkistrodon halys intermedius'' – Stejneger, 1925 * ''Ankistrodon halys intermedius'' – Pavloff, 1926 * ''Agkistrodon intermedius'' – F. Werner, 1929 * ''Ancistrodon halys intermedius viridis'' – Pavloff, 1932 ''(nomen illegitimum)'' * ''Gloydius halys intermedius'' – Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981 * ''Agkistrodon intermedius intermedius'' – Gloyd & Conant, 1982 * ''Gloydius intermedius'' – Kraus, Mink & W.M. Brown, 1996<ref name="McD99">McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).</ref> {{hidden end}} }}

'''''Gloydius intermedius''''', or '''Central Asian pit viper''', is a venomous species of pitviper endemic to northern Asia.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=634887 |taxon=''Gloydius intermedius'' |accessdate=8 August 2008}}</ref>

==Description== Gloyd and Conant (1990) reported examining subadults and adults of ''G. intermedius'' that were {{convert|33.5|–|71|cm|in|abbr=on}} in total length. Nikolsky (1916) mentioned that some individuals may reach as much as {{convert|78|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in total length. The body is relatively stout, and the snout is not upturned.<ref name="G&C90"/>

The scalation includes 7 supralabial scales, 23 rows of keeled dorsal scales at midbody, 149-165 ventral scales, and 32-48 subcaudal scales.<ref name="G&C90"/>

The color pattern is variable, but generally consists of 28-45 dark subquadrate dorsal blotches or crossbands that usually extend down the flanks as far as the first or second scale rows. Between these blotches are irregular light areas. A dark brown to black postorbital stripe is present, extending from the eye back to the angle of the jaw, outlined by a light line above, and by cream-colored supralabial scales below.<ref name="G&C90"/>

==Common names== Common names for ''G. intermedius'' include Central Asian pit viper, intermediate mamushi, Mongolian pit viper,<ref name="G&C90">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. {{ISBN|0-916984-20-6}}.</ref> Central Asian pitviper.<ref name="Gum04">Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). ''Asian Pitvipers''. First Edition. Berlin: Geitje Books. 368 pp. {{ISBN|3-937975-00-4}}.</ref> <ref name="G&C90">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. {{ISBN|0-916984-20-6}}.</ref>

== Previous Subspecies == The status of previous subspecies is controversial, but none are currently recognised, with ''G. caucasicus'' and ''G. stejnegeri'' being elevated to full species.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gloydius stejnegeri |url=https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Gloydius&species=stejnegeri |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=The Reptile Database}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rastegar-Pouyani |first1=Eskandar |last2=Oraie |first2=Hamzeh |last3=Khosravani |first3=Azar |last4=Akbari |first4=Abolfazl |date=2018-04-03 |title=Phylogenetic position of Iranian pitvipers (Viperidae, Crotalinae, Gloydius) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03946975.2018.1442288#d1e258 |journal=Tropical Zoology |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=55–67 |doi=10.1080/03946975.2018.1442288 |bibcode=2018TrZoo..31...55R |issn=0394-6975|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Geographic range== ''G. intermedius'' is found in southeastern Azerbaijan, northern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, northwestern Afghanistan, southern Russia, Korea, northwestern China and Mongolia. The type locality given by Stejneger (1907) is "Governm. Irkutsk, East Siberia." Golay ''et al.'' (1993) give "Yesso (= Esso) Island, banks of Amur River and Khinggan (= Hinggan Ling) Mountain Range."<ref name="McD99"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{NRDB species|genus=Gloydius|species=intermedius|date=8 August|year=2008}}

intermedius Category:Snakes of Afghanistan Category:Reptiles of Azerbaijan Category:Snakes of China Category:Reptiles of Central Asia Category:Reptiles of Mongolia Category:Reptiles of Russia Category:Reptiles described in 1868 Category:Snakes of Iran