Lizards
Georgia has 56 reptiles and 12 amphibians — the 2026 checklist
The paper divides species recorded in Georgia into confirmed and candidate taxa — this is not a list of new discoveries.
Read the article
In Georgia, Vipera ammodytes is found mainly in dry, rocky areas of the Lesser Caucasus. A clearly visible horn on its nose is its main distinguishing feature. The snake is venomous, and its bite is very dangerous to people; if bitten, call 112 immediately. Snakes living in Georgia and the South Caucasus belong to the subspecies V. a. transcaucasiana. Older scientific sources and some databases list this subspecies as a separate species, Vipera transcaucasiana. In Georgia, Vipera ammodytes is found around Meskheti, Trialeti and the upper reaches of the Mtkvari River. It does not usually live in the humid forests of Colchis or the high mountains of the Greater Caucasus. Adult snakes of this species in the Caucasus are usually shorter than about 75 cm.
Identification
How to identify Nose-horned viper
This is a large-bodied viper. In Georgia, the prominent horn on its nose helps identify it, as does the fact that it occurs in dry, rocky areas of the Lesser Caucasus. Its pupil is vertical, and its scales have a raised line down the middle.
Often confused with
The main identifying feature is a clearly visible horn on the nose, covered with small scales. Other vipers in Georgia do not have a true horn like this on their nose. The head is broad and clearly distinct from the neck. Adult snakes of the Caucasian form usually do not exceed 75 cm in length.
The pupil looks like a vertical slit, and the scales on the back have a pronounced raised line down the middle. Its coloring is often light gray, ash gray or grayish white. Narrow crosswise bands or separate dark spots are usually visible on the back. The pattern varies, so do not identify it by the pattern on its back alone. There are usually no distinct dark spots on the horn or the top of the head. A faint V-shaped mark is sometimes visible on the neck. The colored part of the eye is often golden or copper-colored.
Telescopus fallax has no horn on its nose. Its pupils are also vertical, but its body is slimmer, its eyes are larger, and the scales on its back are smooth. From a distance, when the head is not visible, paired dark spots on the back of the horn-nosed viper can make it look like Coronella austriaca or Zamenis hohenackeri. Both have round pupils and smooth scales on their backs. The spots on Zamenis hohenackeri usually run in two rows along its body. Neither has a horn on its nose. The dark spots on the back of Hemorrhois ravergieri can also sometimes resemble a viper’s markings. From a distance, when the head is not visible, its back pattern may be mistaken for the crosswise spots of the horn-nosed viper. Hemorrhois ravergieri has round pupils, a slimmer body and no horn on its nose. The Caucasian viper also has no horn on its nose. It is found mainly in damp parts of Colchis and often has a brick-red or orange hue. Vipera darevskii and the horn-nosed viper have both been seen in the same small area in Gomaro. From a distance, when the head is not visible, their dark back patterns against a light background may be confused. Vipera darevskii often has a zigzag pattern, but no horn on its nose. Vipera renardi has also been seen around Gori. From a distance, its dark back pattern may be mistaken for that of the horn-nosed viper. Vipera renardi often has a zigzag pattern, but no horn on its nose. A young Macrovipera lebetina and the horn-nosed viper may both have paired dark spots or crosswise bands on their backs, so the back pattern alone is not enough to tell them apart. Macrovipera lebetina has no horn on its nose and has a blunt snout. Adults are often about 1–1.5 m long. In Georgia, it is found mainly on the dry lowlands and foothills of the southeast.
A snake described in the middle reaches of the Mtkvari River had a slightly raised snout but no horn. Its other features were intermediate between those of two species known in Georgian as ცხვირრქოსანი and კავკასიური გველგესლა. It may be a hybrid, born from a cross between those species. Its appearance alone cannot establish its origin with certainty. To identify a viper, do not pick it up or try to count its scales. Observe it from a safe distance.
Gallery
Nose-horned viper in photos
The viper with a horn on its nose is found mainly on dry, rocky slopes with sparse vegetation. It may also be found in stony areas, among shrubs, at forest edges, near stone walls and in vineyards. In Georgia, it also occurs in relatively dry, rocky and grassy areas, especially in the east of the country. There are records from Adjara, but its presence across the area has not been confirmed. Its presence has been confirmed in Borjomi, Gomaro in Adigeni Municipality, Tashiskari and Gori. It was also photographed in Dzega in August 2026. Older regional accounts describe its range in the Lesser Caucasus as extending from around Tbilisi toward the mountains of Adjara, in the direction of Shuakhevi. They also describe its range as following the upper Mtkvari River toward Akhalkalaki. The exact limit of its range in western Javakheti has not been fully confirmed. Unlike the Caucasian viper, the viper with a horn on its nose is not typical of the Black Sea coast or the humid Colchian forests.
Distribution
Where the nose-horned viper is recorded in Georgia
55 field records2005–20266 regions
Interactive map is loading.
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Confirmed distribution region
The nose-horned viper map uses public iNaturalist observations filed as Vipera meridionalis transcaucasiana. Only regions marked confirmed in the records table count as distribution. Public coordinates are obscured, so points near regional borders are approximate; record counts do not measure population density.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
Biology
Diet, behavior, and conservation
Diet
An adult viper with a horn on its nose feeds mainly on lizards and small mammals. It rarely catches small birds. Young vipers of this kind hunt small lizards more often. It usually lies in wait for prey and immobilizes it with venom when it bites.
Behavior
This viper is active during the warmer months. In cool spring and autumn weather, it often moves around during the day; in the summer heat, it moves around more in the evening and early at night. It spends the winter in rock crevices and under stones. Its eggs develop inside the mother’s body, and the young are born alive. It mates in spring, and the young are usually born in late summer or early autumn. If you encounter this snake, keep your distance and do not pick it up. It does not seek out people and usually bites when it feels threatened and defends itself.
Conservation
In a 2009 global assessment, the Caucasian form was treated as a separate species, Vipera transcaucasiana, and assessed as close to being threatened. This snake is not included in Georgia’s 2014 Red List, although it was included in the older Red Books of the USSR and Georgia. Under the Bern Convention, Vipera ammodytes receives special protection. The main threats are changes to the rocky, dry places where this snake lives, the expansion of agriculture, and people killing snakes. In Georgia, this snake has been recorded relatively rarely and at individual sites.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Nose-horned viper.
This snake is venomous and very dangerous to people. Its bite can cause serious symptoms both at the bite site and throughout the body. A bite requires urgent medical attention. It does not deliberately attack people and usually bites when it feels threatened. Do not approach or pick it up.
Call 112 immediately. Have the injured person lie down, reassure them, and try to keep them from moving as much as possible. Do not cut the bite wound, suck out the venom, or apply a tight bandage. Treatment must take place in a hospital.
Yes. This snake has been confirmed in Georgia. Snakes of this species living there belong to a subspecies called Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana. The specimen used to describe this subspecies came from Borjomi. In Georgia, the species is found only in some regions and in certain types of places.
In Georgia, the viper known as ცხვირრქოსანი გველგესლა is found mainly in dry, rocky parts of the Lesser Caucasus: in Meskheti, Trialeti and the valleys along the upper Kura River. Older sources also mention the mountains of Adjara. There are records from Adjara, but its presence there has not been confirmed. The humid coastal belt of Colchis is not its typical habitat.
Among Georgia’s vipers, only the one called ცხვირრქოსანი გველგესლა in Georgian has a true horn on its nose. Its pupil is vertically elongated, and each scale on its back has a raised line down the middle. It is often grey, with narrow crosswise bands or dark spots on its back, but colour alone is not a reliable way to identify it. Telescopus fallax has no horn on its nose. Its pupil is also vertically elongated, but its body is slimmer, its eyes are large, and the scales on its back are smooth.
Adult snakes of the Caucasian form are usually no longer than about 75 cm. The viper with a horn on its nose is much shorter and smaller than the gyurza.
Yes, both cases refer to the same snakes living in the Caucasus. In the 2026 Georgian checklist, the Caucasian group is treated as a subspecies of Vipera ammodytes—a distinct group within that species—and called V. a. transcaucasiana. In a 2009 global assessment, the group was treated as a separate species, Vipera transcaucasiana, and assessed as close to being threatened.
The viper known in Georgian as ცხვირრქოსანი გველგესლა is not on Georgia’s 2014 state Red List, although it appeared in older Red Books. In 2009, its Caucasian form was assessed globally as close to being threatened. At the time, that form was considered a separate species, Vipera transcaucasiana.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Iankoshvili & Tarkhnishvili 2021 — Distribution of snakes in Georgia
- Boulenger 1913 — On the geographical races of Vipera ammodytes
- Tomović 2006 — Systematics of the nose-horned viper
- Tuniyev et al. 2009 — IUCN Red List account for Vipera transcaucasiana
- Göçmen et al. 2015 — Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana morphology and records
- Raaijmakers et al. 2026 — Possible kaznakovi × transcaucasiana hybrid from central Georgia
- Mebert et al. 2025 — Darevsky's viper and nose-horned viper at Gomaro, supplementary records
- Mebert et al. 2025 — Steppe viper records near Gori and Tbilisi
- Yıldız, Akman & İğci 2023 — Amphibians and Reptiles of Mount Ararat, snake accounts
- Boulenger 1913 — The Snakes of Europe, comparative field descriptions
- Mulder 2017 — Distribution of V. a. transcaucasiana in Turkey
- The Reptile Database
- National Geographic Georgia / National Museum — South Caucasian sand viper map
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- WHO — Snakebite
- 112 — საქართველოს გადაუდებელი დახმარების ერთიანი ნომერი
- iNaturalist — Vipera meridionalis transcaucasiana, Georgia observations
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Related guides
