Trimeresurus | |
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White-lipped pit viper, T. albolabris | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Viperidae |
Subfamily: | Crotalinae |
Genus: | Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 |
Synonyms | |
Trimeresurus is a genus of venomous pit vipers found in Asia from the Indian Subcontinent throughout Southeast Asia, China, and the Pacific Islands. Currently 44 species are recognized. [2] Common names include Asian palm pit vipers, [3] Asian lanceheads, and green pit vipers. [4]
Most species in the genus Trimeresurus are relatively small, primarily arboreal species, with thin bodies and prehensile tails. Most Trimeresurus species are typically green in color, but some species also have yellow, black, orange, red, or gold markings.
The diet of Trimeresurus species includes a variety of animals, including lizards, amphibians, birds, rodents, and other small mammals.
Like most viper species, many of the species in the genus Trimeresurus are ovoviviparous, bearing live young. However, some species such as T. flavoviridis , T. kaulbacki , and T. macrolepis are oviparous, laying eggs. Also, the reproductive biology of some Trimeresurus species is as yet unknown.
Trimeresurus venom varies in toxicity between species, but all are primarily hemotoxic and considered to be medically significant to humans.
Species in the genus Trimeresurus are found in Southeast Asia from India (including regions of the North Chotanagpur division of Jharkhand) to Southern China and Japan, and the Malay Archipelago to Timor. [1]
Image | Species [2] | Taxon author [2] | Subsp.* [2] | Common name [5] | Geographic range [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
T. albolabris | Gray, 1842 | 0 | White-lipped pit viper | India (Assam), Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Southern China (Fujian, Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong), Hong Kong, West Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Madoera, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Sumba, Roti, Timor, Kisar, Wetar). | |
T. andersonii | Theobald, 1868 | 0 | Anderson’s pit viper, Andaman pit viper | Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands. | |
T. arunachalensis | Captain, Deepak, Pandit, Bhatt & Athreya, 2019 | 0 | Arunachal pit viper | India: Arunachal Pradesh | |
T. calamitas | Vogel, Davi & Sidik, 2022 | 0 | Indonesia (Nias Island). | ||
T. cantori | Blyth, 1846 | 0 | Cantor's pit viper | India: Nicobar Islands, and possibly the Andaman Islands. | |
T. cardamomensis | Malhotra, Thorpe, Mrinalini & B. Stuart, 2011 | 0 | Cardamom Mountains green pit viper | Eastern Thailand, Koh Kong Province in Cambodia. | |
T. caudornatus | Chen, Ding, Vogel & S. Shi, 2020 | 0 | Ornamental-tailed pit viper | China (Yunnan). | |
T. davidi | Chandramouli, P. Campbell & Vogel, 2020. [6] | 0 | Car Nicobar, India. | ||
T. erythrurus | Cantor, 1839 | 0 | Red-tailed bamboo pit viper | India (Assam and Sikkim), Bangladesh and Myanmar. | |
T. fasciatus | Boulenger, 1896 | 0 | Banded pit viper | Indonesia: Djampea Island. | |
T. flavomaculatus | Gray, 1842 | 2 | Philippine pit viper | Philippine Islands: Agutayan, Batan, Camiguin, Catanduanes, Dinagat, Jolo, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Polillo. | |
T. gracilis | Ōshima, 1920 | 0 | Kikushi habu | Central Taiwan. | |
T. gumprechti | David, Vogel, Pauwels & Vidal, 2002 | 0 | Gumprecht's green pit viper | China (Yunnan), Laos, Thailand, Vietnam. | |
T. gunaleni | Vogel, David & Sidik, 2014 | 0 | Gunalen's pit viper | Sumatra. | |
T. guoi | Chen, S. Shi, Vogel & Ding, 2020 | 0 | Guo's green pit viper | China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar. | |
T. hageni | Lidth de Jeude, 1886 | 0 | Hagen's pit viper | Peninsular Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra and the nearby islands of Bangka, Simalur, Nias, Batu and the Mentawai Islands. | |
T. honsonensis | L. Grismer, Ngo & J. Grismer, 2008 | 0 | Hon Son pit viper | Southern Vietnam. | |
T. insularis | Kramer, 1977 | 0 | Sunda Island pit viper, White-lipped island pit viper | Indonesia, Timor-Leste | |
T. kanburiensis | M.A. Smith, 1943 | 0 | Kanburi pit viper | Thailand. | |
T. kirscheyi | Vogel, David & Sidik, 2022 | 0 | Simeulue pit viper | Indonesia (Simeulue Island). | |
T. kuiburi | Sumontha, Suntrarachun, Pauwels, Pawangkhanant, Chomngam, Iamwiriyakul & Chanhome, 2021 | 0 | Kui Buri pit viper | Thailand. | |
T. labialis | Steindachner, 1867 | 0 | Nicobar bamboo pit viper | India: Nicobar Islands. | |
T. macrops | Kramer, 1977 | 0 | Large-eyed pit viper | Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam. | |
T. malcolmi | Loveridge, 1938 | 0 | Malcolm's pit viper | Borneo. | |
T. mayaae | Rathee, Purkayastha, Lalremsanga, Dalal, Biakzuala, Muansanga & Mirza, 2022 [7] | 0 | Maya's pit viper | India: Meghalaya (Ri Bhoi), Mizoram (Champhai), Assam (Guwahati) [8] | |
T. mcgregori | Taylor, 1919 | 0 | McGregor's pit viper, McGregor's tree viper, Philippine pit viper | Batan Island, Philippines. | |
T. medoensis | Zhao, 1977 | 0 | Motuo bamboo pit viper | Northern India, northern Myanmar, and China (southeastern Xizang). | |
T. mutabilis | Stoliczka, 1870 | 0 | Central Nicobar pit viper, Central Nicobar bamboo pit viper | Central Nicobar Island. | |
T. nebularis | Vogel, David & Pauwels, 2004 | 0 | Cameron Highlands pit viper, Clouded pit viper | West Malaysia (Cameron Highlands), Thailand. | |
T. phuketensis | Sumontha, Kunya, Pauwels, Nitikul & Punnadee, 2011 [9] | 0 | Phuket pit viper | Thailand: Phuket Island. | |
T. popeiorum | M.A. Smith, 1937 | 2 | Popes' pit viper | Northern India, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia (Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands of Siberut, Sipora, and North Pagai, and on the island of Borneo). | |
T. purpureomaculatus | Gray, 1832 | 0 | Mangrove pit viper | Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra). | |
T. rubeus | (Malhotra, Thorpe, Mrinalini & L. Stuart, 2011) | 0 | ruby-eyed green pitviper | southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia | |
T. sabahi | Regenass & Kramer, 1981 | 0 | Sabah bamboo pit viper, Sabah pit viper | Sabah, Sarawak | |
T. salazar | Mirza, Bhosale, Phansalkar, Sawant, Gowande & Patel (2020) | 0 | Salazar’s pit viper [10] | India: western lowlands of Arunachal Pradesh | |
T. schultzei | Griffin, 1909 | 0 | Schultze's pit viper | Philippines: Palawan and Balabac. | |
T. septentrionalis | Kramer, 1977 | 0 | Nepal pit viper, Himalayan white-lipped pit viper | Bangladesh, India, Nepal | |
T. sichuanensis | Guo & Wang, 2011 | 0 | Sichuan pit viper | Sichuan, China | |
T. stejnegeri | Schmidt, 1925 | 2 | Stejneger's pit viper | India (Assam), and Nepal through Myanmar and Thailand to China (Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Yunnan) and Taiwan. | |
T. sumatranus T | Raffles, 1822 | 0 | Sumatran pit viper | Southern Thailand, West and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo) and Indonesia (Bangka, Billiton, Borneo, Sumatra and the nearby islands of Simalur, Nias, and possibly the Mentawai Islands [Sipora]). | |
T. tibetanus | Huang, 1982 | 0 | Tibetan bamboo pit viper | China: Xiang (Tibet) Autonomous Region. | |
T. truongsonensis | Orlov, Ryabov, Thanh & Cuc, 2004 | 0 | Quang Binh pit viper | Central Vietnam | |
T. venustus | Vogel, 1991 | 0 | Beautiful pit viper, Brown-spotted pit viper | Southern Thailand | |
T. vogeli | David, Vidal & Pauwels, 2001 | 0 | Vogel's pit viper | Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam. | |
T. whitteni | Vogel, David & Sidik, 2022 | 0 | Siberut pit viper | Indonesia (Siberut Island). | |
T. yingjiangensis | Chen, Ding, J. Shi & Zhang, 2019 | 0 | Southwest China | ||
T. yunnanensis | Schmidt, 1925 | 0 | Yunnan bamboo pit viper | Southern China | |
T. ciliaris | Idiiatullina, Pawangkhanant, Tawan, Worranuch, Dechochai, Suwannapoom, Nguyen, Chanhome & Poyarkov, 2023 | 0 | Limestone Eyelash Pitviper | Thailand | |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species. [1]
Additional species that may be recognized by other sources include: [11]
The genus Trimeresurus (sensu lato) has been the subject of considerable taxonomic work since 2000, resulting in the recognition of additional genera within this complex. Most authors now recognise the genus Protobothrops for the species cornutus, flavoviridis, jerdonii, kaulbacki, mucrosquamatus, tokarensis, xiangchengensis, [12] [13] [14] since these have been shown not to be closely related to other Trimeresurus in recent phylogenetic analyses.
In addition, Malhotra and Thorpe (2004) [13] proposed a radical shake up of the entire genus, splitting Trimeresurus into seven genera. Their proposed arrangement (including species described since 2004) is shown in the table below:
Genus | Species included |
---|---|
Trimeresurus | andalasensis, borneensis, brongersmai, gramineus, malabaricus, puniceus, salazar, strigatus, trigonocephalus, wiroti |
Cryptelytrops | albolabris, andersonii, cantori, erythrurus, fasciatus, honsonensis (Hon Son Pit Viper), insularis, kanburiensis, labialis, macrops, purpureomaculatus, rubeus, septentrionalis, venustus |
Himalayophis | tibetanus |
Parias | flavomaculatus, hageni, malcolmi, mcgregori, schultzei, sumatranus |
Peltopelor | macrolepis |
Popeia | barati, buniana, fucata, nebularis, popeiorum, sabahi |
Viridovipera | gumprechti, medoensis, stejnegeri, truongsonensis, vogeli, yunnanensis |
This new arrangement has been followed by many, [14] [15] but not all [11] [16] subsequent authors.
David et al. (2011) considered some of the genera of Malhotra & Thorpe to be subgenera of the genus Trimeresurus, creating new combinations such as "Trimeresurus (Parias) flavomaculatus", "Trimeresurus (Popeia) popeiorum", "Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) stejnegeri", etc. [17]
Ovophis monticola, commonly known as the Chinese mountain pit viper, is a venomous pitviper species found in Asia. Currently, two subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. Recent taxonomic work suggests that most of these should be considered as separate species. IUCN has already evaluated O. m. makazayazaya as Ovophis makazayazaya.
Protobothrops jerdonii, also known commonly as Jerdon's pitviper, the yellow-speckled pit viper, and the oriental pit viper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to India, Nepal, Myanmar, China, and Vietnam. Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Protobothrops mucrosquamatus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Asia. Common names include: brown-spotted pit viper, Taiwanese habu and pointed-scaled pit viper. No subspecies are currently recognized. The species was first described by Theodore Cantor in 1839.
Trimeresurus albolabris, the white-lipped pit viper or white-lipped tree viper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Southeast Asia.
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.
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.
Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus is a venomous pit viper species native to India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia. Common names include: mangrove pit viper, mangrove viper, and shore pit viper.
Trimeresurus septentrionalis, commonly known as the Nepal pit viper or northern white-lipped pit viper, is a venomous pit viper species found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India.
Trimeresurus stejnegeri is a species of venomous pit viper endemic to Asia. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Protobothrops sieversorum, commonly known as the three horned-scaled pitviper or the three-horn-scaled pit-viper, is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Vietnam.
Protobothrops mangshanensis, commonly known as the Mangshan pit viper, Mangshan pitviper, Mt. Mang pitviper, or Mang Mountain pitviper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Hunan and Guangdong provinces in China. No subspecies are currently recognized. This is a nocturnal pit viper that is also known as the ''Mangshan iron-head snake'', ''Chinese pit viper'', and the ''Ironhead viper''. They eat frogs, birds, insects, and small mammals. They have a white tail tip that they wiggle to mimic a grub so that prey comes into striking range—a behaviour known as caudal luring. The venom causes blood clotting and corrodes muscle tissue and can be fatal to humans if not treated. Unusually for vipers, P. mangshanensis is oviparous with the female laying clutches of 13–21 eggs which she will guard until they hatch.
Trimeresurus kanburiensis is a species of pit viper found in only a few areas of Thailand. Common names include: Kanburi pitviper, Kanburian pit viper, and tiger pit viper. Highly venomous, it is an arboreal but heavily built species with a brown or tawny coloration. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Protobothrops xiangchengensis, commonly known as the Szechwan pit viper, Kham Plateau pitviper, or Sichuan lancehead, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to the Hengduan Mountains in south-central China. No subspecies are currently recognized.
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.
Protobothrops kaulbacki, commonly known as the Kaulback's lance-headed pitviper or Kaulback's lance-headed pit viper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Asia. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Trimeresurus sabahi, commonly known as the Sabah pit viper or Sabah bamboo pitviper, is a venomous pitviper species. If defined narrowly, it is endemic to the island of Borneo. If defined more broadly, it consists of five subspecies found in Southeast Asia.
Trimeresurus rubeus, commonly known as the ruby-eyed green pitviper, is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Southeast Asia. It occurs in southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Trimeresurus vogeli, commonly known as the Vogel's pit viper, is a venomous pitviper species native to Southeast Asia.
Trimeresurus salazar, also known as Salazar's pit viper, is a species of venomous, green pit viper first discovered in 2019 in the lowlands of the western part of Arunachal Pradesh, India; the fifth new reptile species to be discovered in the region in 2019. It was named after Salazar Slytherin from the Harry Potter series. It has a dark green head and yellowish green dorsal scales on the rest of its body. The species is sexually dichromatic; the males have reddish-orange and yellow-orange stripes and a rusty red-orange tail that the females lack. Its habitat is under threat from human development activities.
Trimeresurus cardamomensis is a venomous pit viper species located in eastern Thailand and the Koh Kong Province in Cambodia. It is more commonly known as the Cardamom Mountains green pit viper.