Vipera ursinii
species of reptile
Vipera ursinii is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. It is a very rare species, which is in danger of extinction. This species is commonly called the meadow viper, Orsini's viper, Ursini's viper, and the meadow adder. It is found in southeast France, the central Apennines in Italy, as well as fragmented areas of eastern Europe. Several subspecies are recognised.
Etymology
The specific name or epithet, ursinii, is in honour of Italian naturalist Antonio Orsini (1788–1870).
Description
Adults of Vipera ursini average 40–50 cm (16–20 inches) in total length (tail included), although specimens of 63–80 cm (25–31 inches) in total length have been reported. Females are larger than males. Although sometimes confused with V. aspis or V. berus, it differs from them in the following characters. The smallest viper in Europe, its body is thick, its head narrow, and its appearance rough.
“Vipera ursinii” enters the record as species of reptile. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Vipera, ursinii and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q387752. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1788 and 1870.
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This entry incorporates text from “Vipera ursinii” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.