Black-tongued predator caught by hunter in Iraq. It's a first-of-its-kind record
It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind record.
Basheer Al-Taei, a 'local hunter and conservationist,' visited the Zurbatia mountain foothills last August and encountered a venomous snake. Intrigued, he caught it and kept it, according to a study published June 11 in the peer-reviewed journal Check List.
Al-Taei filmed the captive snake and sent the video to scientists, the study said.
Researchers identified the snake as a Persian horned viper, or Pseudocerastes persicus, 'a venomous species' that had not been confirmed to live in Iraq — until now.
A video shared on YouTube by study co-author Soran Ahmed shows the viper. Its head is 'spade-shaped' with pointed horn-like scales near its eyes and a black tongue. The rest of its body alternates between tan and brown patches, photos show.
Al-Taei kept the Persian horned viper in captivity for 10 days before it died and 'was discarded,' researchers said.
Experts have long debated whether Persian horned vipers live in the mountains of eastern Iraq. The species lives in neighboring Iran but all previous records in Iraq were 'questionable' and 'unsubstantiated by any clear, confirmed, or verified evidence,' the study said.
The snake caught by Al-Taei is 'the first documented confirmation of Pseudocerastes persicus in Iraq,' researchers said.
Other hunters in the Badra District, the area where Al-Taei caught the viper, told researchers they 'were aware of this viper species' presence at numerous sites within the Zurbatia foothills,' the study said. 'Locally, the species is referred to as 'Haiyah Farissiyah Um Groon,' meaning 'the Persian viper with horns' in Arabic, and is typically killed when encountered.'
Researchers said their finding 'extends the geographic range' of the Persian horned viper and 'emphasizes the need for further field research on this species' distribution and conservation.'
The research team included Omar Al-Sheikhly, Soran Ahmed, Korsh Ararat, Husham Abdulzahra, Wolfgang Böhme and Daniel Jablonski.
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