A fossil viper (Serpentes: Viperidae) from the Early Pleistocene of the Crimean Peninsula.

A fragmentary maxilla and isolated vertebrae of a viperid snake were found in the Lower Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida cave, Crimean Peninsula. The snake is assigned to Vipera cf. renardi based on the morphology of the maxilla. This is the first unquestionable fossil record of the Vipera ursinii-renardi complex dispersed into Crimea earlier than previously supposed, already in the Early Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]