Viperidae

Aloufi, Abdulhadi, Zayer, Mohammed Al & Amr, Zuhair S., 2023, Reptiles and Amphibians along the Coastal Area of the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Ecologica Montenegrina 68, pp. 66-87 : 80-81

Family Viperidae

Cerastes gasperetti Leviton and Anderson, 1967 Fig. 9F

Material examined: EZC051, Ahsa National Park, 3.9.2023. Observed: Al Judaedah, 1.9.2023. Hejrat Al Oseferat, 4.8.2023 and 3.9.2023. Al Ahsa National Park, 3.9.2023. Jabal Al Araba’a, 5.9.2023.

Remarks: The Arabian horned viper is a very ubiquitous species in the sand deserts of the Arabian Penisula ( Gasperetti, 1988). Also, it inhabits sandy wadi beds surrounded by mountains. In the study area, it was reported from Dhahran, Jafura desert and Abqaiq ( Haas, 1957, 1961; Leviton & Anderson, 1967), Al Jubail in sandy areas with vegetation cover of Haloxylon sp. , Calligonum sp. and Rhanterium epapposum ( Martens, 1996) , and from several localities in Al Hassa ( Al-Sadoon, 2010).

The feeding behaviour of C. gasperettii was studied based on specimens collected around Riyadh (Al-Sadoon & Paray, 2016). Two species of rodents, Gerbillus cheesmani and Mus musculus were found in the stomach contents of this viper along with two species of reptiles; A. schmiditi and S. slevinii .

Figures

Figure 9. A. Eryx jayakari. B. Lytorhynchus diadema. C. Platyceps ventromaculatus. D. Malpolon moilensis. E. Psammophis schokari. F. Cerastes gasperetti.