Craspedocephalus strigatus

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Craspedocephalus strigatus
Horse-shoe pitviper Trimeresurus strigatus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Craspedocephalus
Species:
C. strigatus
Binomial name
Craspedocephalus strigatus
Gray, 1842
Synonyms
  • Trimesurus [sic] strigatus
    Gray, 1842
  • Atropos Darwini
    A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron &
    A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
  • Trigonocephalus (Cophias) neelgherriensis
    Jerdon, 1854
  • Trimesurus Nielgherriensis
    Beddome, 1862
  • T[rigonocephalus]. Darwini
    Jan, 1859
  • B[othrops] Darwini
    — Jan, 1863
  • T[rimeresurus]. strigolus
    Theobald, 1868
  • Crotalus Trimeres[urus]. strigatus
    — Higgins, 1873
  • T[rimeresurus]. strigatus
    — Theobald, 1876
  • T[rigonocephalus]. Nilghiriensis
    Theobald, 1876
  • Lachesis strigatus
    Boulenger, 1896
  • Trimeresurus strigatus
    M.A. Smith, 1943
  • P[rotobothrops]. strigatus
    Kraus, Mink & W.M. Brown, 1996 [2]
  • Trimeresurus strigatus
    Herrmann et al., 2004
  • Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) strigatus
    David et al., 2011
  • Craspedocephalus strigatus
    Wallach et al., 2014 [3]

Craspedocephalus strigatus, commonly known as the horseshoe pit viper, [4] is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. [5]

Contents

Geographic range

Endemic to the Western Ghats, in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala states of South India, C. strigatus is distributed in the Upper Nilgiri Mountains (Whitaker & Captain, 2004). Historically it was misidentified and misreported from extralimital localities from both the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. Perhaps this is the species of pitviper confirmed from India to have the smallest geographic range of all. [6]

The type locality listed is "Cape of Good Hope?" and "Madras?" (Madras Presidency [and not the City], India). The former must be a mistake. [2] Boulenger (1896) restricted the type locality to "Madras Presidency". [3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. strigatus are montane forests, shola patches, and grasslands, at altitudes of 1,100–2,400 m (3,600–7,900 ft). [1]

Behaviour

C. strigatus is terrestrial, with most of the sightings on the ground or on rock formations. It is probably diurnal, but its natural history is poorly known. [1]

Diet

C. strigatus preys upon frogs, smaller snakes, and small rodents such as mice. [1]

Description

C. strigatus may be distinguished from other pit vipers of peninsular India based on the presence of small internasals, the second supralabial in contact with the loreal pit, 21 rows of smooth or weakly-keeled dorsal scales at midbody, and a single row of scales between labials and suboculars. The common name of the species is based on the presence of a pale buff horseshoe-shaped (i.e., inverted "U") mark on the nape. Dorsally, the snake is pale brownish or buff-coloured with darker blotches of grey and some white streaks.

Of 12 snakes measured, the mean snout-to-vent length (SVL) was 24.4 ± 7.04 cm (9.6 ± 2.8 in), the tail length (tL) was 3.5 ± 0.8 cm (1.4 ± 0.3 in), and the weight was 172 ± 10.5 g (6 ± 0.4 oz).[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Protobothrops jerdonii</i> Species of venomous snake

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<i>Trimeresurus erythrurus</i> Species of snake

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<i>Craspedocephalus gramineus</i> Species of snake

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<i>Craspedocephalus macrolepis</i> Species of snake

Craspedocephalus macrolepis, commonly known as the large-scaled pit viper, is a venomous pitviper species endemic to the Southern Western Ghats of South India. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Craspedocephalus malabaricus</i> Species of snake

Craspedocephalusmalabaricus, commonly known as Malabar pit viper, Malabar rock pit viper, or rock viper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to the High-moderate elevations of western ghats of southwestern India.Recently this species complex was split into three different species, Craspedocephalus malabaricus, Craspedocephalus travancoricus, Craspedocephalus anamallensis.

<i>Trimeresurus popeiorum</i> Species of snake

Trimeresurus popeiorum is a species of venomous pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is native to northern and northeastern parts of India and Southeast Asia. Common names include: Pope's pit viper, Pope's green pit viper, Pope's tree viper and Pope's bamboo pitviper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craspedocephalus trigonocephalus</span> Species of snake

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<i>Craspedocephalus puniceus</i> Species of snake

Craspedocephalus puniceus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Southeast Asia. Common names include: flat-nosed pitviper, flat-nosed pit viper, and ashy pit viper. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Trimeresurus sumatranus</i> Species of snake

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<i>Craspedocephalus brongersmai</i> Species of snake

Craspedocephalus brongersmai, also known commonly as Brongersma's pit viper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to islands off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Trimeresurus hageni</i> Species of snake

Trimeresurus hageni, commonly known as the Hagen's pit viper, is a species of pit viper, a venomous snake, in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Trimeresurus tibetanus, commonly known as the Tibetan bamboo pit viper, is a venomous pit viper species found only in Tibet. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Trimeresurus gracilis, commonly known as the Taiwan pit viper or Taiwan mountain pitviper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Taiwan. No subspecies are currently recognized. The species is known as kikushi habu in Japanese.

Garthius chaseni, commonly known as Chasen's mountain pit viper, Chasen's tree viper, and the Kinabalu brown pit viper, is a species of venomous pitviper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the island of Borneo in Malaysia. No subspecies are currently recognized. It is monotypic in the genus Garthius.

<i>Trimeresurus mcgregori</i> Species of snake

Trimeresurus mcgregori, commonly known as McGregor's pit viper or the Batanes pit viper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Vijayakumar, S.P.; Deepak, V.; Achyuthan, N.S. (2013). "Trimeresurus strigatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T172655A1360236. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172655A1360236.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN   1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN   1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. 1 2 Species Craspedocephalus strigatus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. (first edition). Berlin: Geitje Books. 368 pp. ISBN   3-937975-00-4.
  5. "Trimeresurus strigatus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 27 September 2006.
  6. Ganesh SR, Chandramouli SR (2018). "On the distribution of Trimeresurus strigatus Gray, 1842 – a corrective note". Sauria40 (1): 87–91.

Further reading