Vipera aspis is a viperspecies found in southwestern Europe.
Its common names include asp, asp viper,[5]European asp,[6] and aspic viper,[7]among others. Like all other vipers, it is venomous. Bites from this species can be more severe than from the European adder, V. berus; not only can they be very painful, but approximately 4% of all untreated bites are fatal.[7] The specific epithet, aspis, is a Greek word that means "viper."[8] Five subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.[9]
^Claudia Corti, Juan M. Pleguezuelos, Valentin Pérez-Mellado, Rafael Marquez, Marc Cheylan, Philippe Geniez, Ulrich Joger, Hans Konrad Nettmann, Benedikt Schmidt, Andreas Meyer, Roberto Sindaco, Antonio Romano, Iñigo Martínez-Solano (2024). "Vipera aspis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024: e.T61591A137859549. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024.RLTS.T61591A137859549.en. Retrieved 23 September 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Boulenger, G.A. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the...Viperidæ. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. (Vipera aspis, pp. 481-485.)
^McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN1-893777-01-4 (volume).
^Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 359 pp. ISBN0-89464-877-2.