Herper of the Month - June 2006
"I´m mostly interested in European and mediterranean herps, especially the vipers. My favorite herp is Vipera ammodytes in all subspecies. Two populations in northeastern Anatolia of Vipera a. transcaucasiana, on Greece mainland, the Peloponnes and some Aegaean islands, where Vipera ammodytes meridionalis live. And nearly the whole east Adriatic coast - Vipera a. ammodytes everywhere. Also many populations in Austria, many of them extinct now and the habitat of Vipera a. ruffoi in South Tyrol, Italy. But I´ve never been in Romania and Bulgaria, where Vipera a. montandoni lives." |
| "Field
trips outside Europe brought me to Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Kenia
and the US (Fla, S.C., N.C., Georgia, Virg.). In Turkey, I have
been 9 times. Looking for Montivipera wagneri, Montivipera xanthina
and Montivipera raddei. I have also seen Macrovipera lebetina
in many places. I also visited the island of Milos (Grecce) 5
times - Macrov. schweizeri, and Macrovipera mauretanica in Morocco.
There I also found Cerastes cerastes, Cerastes vipera and Vipera
latastei gaditiana. And Naja haje legionis. In the US, together
with John Rindfleish, we have been looking for Crotalus adamanteus,
C. horr. horridus, C. h. atricaudatus and Sistrurus miliarius
barbouri. Also Agkistrodon c. contortrix and Agkistrodon piscivorous
conanti." |
| "My
work here in Austria is to get data on the distribution of all
herps for the Vienna Natural History Museum and toad-fences along
roads around my village in Salzburg, where I also collect phaenological
data on Bufo bufo, Rana temporaria and Rana dalmatina.
At the time we are preparing a large paper on the distribution
of amphibians and reptiles from the Croatian island Krk (will
be published in spring or summer next year). I also wrote some
papers on vipers, tortoises, turtles and areas (Morocco, Pag island
Croatia)." |
" At home I keep and breed some Vipera ammodytes, kept in groups from one area and Zamenis situla. At may, 4th, 1982 I was bitten by a large Macrovipera lebetina obtusa near Iskenderun, southern Turkey. From this bite I´ve lost my right arm. But this didn´t block my interest in field work, also in venomous snakes." |
© Scott Waters Productions