Teeth number variation and cranial morphology within Vipera aspis group

Unusual neurotoxic envenomations by Vipera aspis aspis snakes in France.

Vipera aspis aspis (V.a.a.) is the most dangerous poisonous snake in South-Eastern France. The clinical symptoms observed after V.a.a. envenomations involve mostly local signs (pain, edema) associated in the more severe cases with systemic symptoms (gastro-intestinal and cardiovascular manifestations). Since 1992, several unusual cases of moderate and severe 'neurotoxic' envenomations by V.a.a....

Reappraisal of Vipera aspis Venom Neurotoxicity

BACKGROUND The variation of venom composition with geography is an important aspect of intraspecific variability in the Vipera genus, although causes of this variability remain unclear. The diversity of snake venom is important both for our understanding of venomous snake evolution and for the preparation of relevant antivenoms to treat envenomations. A geographic intraspecific variation in sna...

Eye muscle paralysis after Vipera aspis envenomation.

Geographic variation of body size and reproductive patterns in Continental versus Mediterranean asp vipers, Vipera aspis

Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio, Università di Pisa, via Roma 79, I-56011 Calci (Pisa), Italy Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università di Pavia, p.za Botta 9, I-27100 Pavia, Italy Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, F-79360 Villiers en Bois, France FIZV (Ecology), via Olona 7, I-00198 Rome, Italy Dipartimento di Biologia (Unità di ProtistologiaZoologia), Università di Pisa...

Climate affects embryonic development in a viviparous snake, Vipera aspis

Climatic conditions during embryonic development can exert profound and long-term effects on many types of organisms, but most previous research on this topic has focussed on endothermic vertebrates (birds and mammals). Although viviparity in ectothermic taxa allows the reproducing female to buffer ambient thermal variation for her developing offspring, even an actively thermoregulating female ...