New species of viper found in Azerbaijan

A group of Azerbaijani scientists have discovered a species of snake in the country that was hitherto not believed to inhabit this region.

During research in Guba-Khachmaz region, the staff of the Herpetology laboratory of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Science’s Zoology Institute found the species of snake called Pelias lotiyevi, belonging to the family of Viperidae.

The species is new for the Greater Caucasus mountain areas. Pelias lotievi has been never observed in Azerbaijan before.

This species normally inhabits the North Caucasus region and highland xerophytes, stretching from the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus to the borders between Dagestan and Azerbaijan.

So far, this species has been found only in the Guba region mountainous areas, situated at an -READ MORE-http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/89775.html