Fluctuating asymmetry in Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) populations

Vipera ursinii rakosiensis is the most endangered venomous snake in Europe. Our information on the state of natural populations is somewhat limited apart from recent results indicating high genetic diversity in all of its three major areas in the Carpathian Basin. Developmental instability (DI) is a good indicator of individual- or population-level ‘quality’ and fluctuating asymmetry (FA; random deviations from bilateral symmetry) is a good proxy for DI. We studied FA in head scale numbers in V. u. rakosiensis populations (lowland ecomorph) and contrasted it with FA of other subspecies.