Macrovipera lebetinus obtusa
# Macrovipera lebetinus obtusa

    Common names: West-Asian blunt-nosed viper, Levant blunt-nosed viper.

Macrovipera lebetinus obtusa is a venomous viper subspecies endemic to Asia, from central Turkey to northern Pakistan (Kashmir).

## Description

It can be distinguished from other subspecies of M. lebetina by its higher scale counts — usually 170-175 ventrals, and 25 (sometimes 27) rows of dorsal scales at midbody — and relatively dark color pattern.

## Geographic range

It is found from central Turkey through Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, northern Jordan, the Caucasus region (incl. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Dagestan and rarely Georgia), Iran, southern Afghanistan, Pakistan and Himalayan regions of India. In Pakistan, according to Khan (1983), M. lebetina is restricted to the western highlands; it is allopatric with Daboia russelii, which occurs in the Indus River valley.

