NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Adder
Vipera nikolskii Vedmederya, Grubant & Rudajewa, 1986
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Common names: Nikolsky's adder, forest-steppe adder.
Vipera nikolskii is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Viperinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to Ukraine, eastern Romania, and southwestern Russia. No subspecies are recognized as being valid.
Wikipedia contributors, Vipera nikolskii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:20:24.091759+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Vipera nikolskii Vedmederya, Grubant & Rudajewa, 1986
- Name authority
- Vedmederya, Grubant & Rudajewa, 1986
- Common name
- Adder
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Viperidae
- Genus
- Vipera
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyViperidae
- subfamilyViperinae
- genusVipera
- speciesVipera nikolskii Vedmederya, Grubant & Rudajewa, 1986
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Vipera. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Nose-horned ViperVipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anatolian Meadow ViperVipera anatolica Eiselt & Baran, 1970 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Asp ViperVipera aspis (Linnaeus, 1758) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Caucasus ViperVipera kaznakovi Nikolsky, 1909 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lataste’s ViperVipera latastei Bosca, 1878 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mountain ViperVipera monticola Saint Girons, 1953 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Darevsky's ViperVipera darevskii Vedmederja, Orlov & Tuniyev, 1986 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Vipera orlovi Tuniyev & Ostrovskikh, 2001 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Greek Meadow ViperVipera graeca Nilson & Andrén, 1988 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sako’s ViperVipera sakoi (Tuniyev, Avci, Ilgaz, Olgun, Petrova, Bodrov, Geniez & Teynié, 2018) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern sand viperVipera meridionalis Boulenger, 1903 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Vipera altaica Tuniyev, Nilson & Andrén, 2010 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Vipera prester | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Vipera&species=nikolskii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5BJ9P. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.