Crepuscular and nocturnal activity of the Nose-horned viper, Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) is more common than previously reported

Autor: Angel Dyugmedzhiev, Kostadin Andonov, Georgi Popgeorgiev, Borislav Naumov, Yurii V. Kornilev
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Herpetozoa, Vol 33, Iss , Pp 165-169 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2682-955X
DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.33.e56520
Popis: Different snake species may be active at various times of the day. In Europe, most snake species are predominantly diurnal, but about a third are partially or principally crepuscular and/or nocturnal. Here, we report the first instance of multiple in situ observations of the crepuscular and nocturnal activity of V. ammodytes in Bulgaria. Overall, usually as a result of general herpetological surveys and chance observations between 2001–2020, we recorded crepuscular/nocturnal activity of twenty-seven individuals from both sexes and all age classes (juvenile to adult), observed from April to September, following warm (maximum daily Tair = 20–28 °C) and hot (Tair > 28 °C) days. These records represent less than 1.5% of all our personal viper observations. However, given that our observations occurred throughout the country, within five different climatic zones, we hypothesise that nocturnal activity of V. ammodytes is more common than previously reported.
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