| Trimeresurus
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| Scientific classification
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| Kingdom:
| Animalia
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| Phylum:
| Chordata
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| Subphylum:
| Vertebrata
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| Class:
| Reptilia
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| Order:
| Squamata
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| Suborder:
| Serpentes
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| Family:
| Viperidae
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| Subfamily:
| Crotalinae
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| Genus:
| Trimersurus
Lacépède, 1804
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| Synonyms
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- Trimeresurus - Lacépède, 1804
- Craspedocephalus - Kuhl & van Hassert, 1882
- Trimeresura - Fleming, 1882
- Crasedocephalus - Gray, 1825
- Megaera - Wagler, 1830
- Atropos - Wagler, 1830
- Trimesurus - Gray, 1842[1]
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- Common names: Asian pit vipers,[2] Asian lanceheads, Asian lance-headed vipers.[3]
Trimeresurus is a genus of venomous pitvipers found in Asia from Pakistan, through India, China, throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Currently 35 species are recognized.[4]
Additional recommended knowledge
Description
Most are relatively small, primarily arboreal species, with thin bodies and prehensile tails. They are typically green in color, but some species also have yellow, black, orange or red markings.
Feeding
Their diet includes a variety of other animals, including rodents, lizards, amphibians and birds.
Reproduction
Like most viper species, they are ovoviviparous.
Venom
Their venom varies between species in toxicity, but all are primarily hemotoxic and considered to be medically significant to humans.
Geographic range
Southeast Asia from India to southern China and Japan, and the Malay Archipelago to Timor.[1]
Species
| Species[4]
| Authority[4]
| Subsp.*[4]
| Common name[5]
| Geographic range[1]
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| T. albolabris
| Gray, 1842
| 2
| White-lipped pitviper
| India (Assam), Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, southern China (Fukien, Hainan, Kwangsi, Kwantung), Hong Kong, West Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Madoera, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Sumba, Roti, Timor, Kisar, Wetar).
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| T. borneensis
| (Peters, 1872)
| 0
| Bornean pitviper
| Indonesia: Borneo.
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| T. brongersmai
| Hoge, 1969
| 0
| Brongersma's pitviper
| Indonesia: Simalur Island.
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| T. cantori
| (Blyth, 1846)
| 0
| Cantor's pitviper
| India: Nicobar Islands, and possibly the Andaman Islands.
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| T. cornutus
| Smith, 1930
| 0
| Fan-Si-Pan horned pitviper
| Vietnam: Bach Ma and Tonkin. Occurs in rainforests at low elevations. Also in central Vietnam.[5]
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| T. elegans
| (Gray, 1849)
| 0
| Elegant pitviper
| Japan: southern Ryukyu Islands.
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| T. erythrurus
| (Cantor, 1839)
| 0
| Red-tailed bamboo pitviper
| India (Assam and Sikkim), Bangladesh and Myanmar.
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| T. fasciatus
| (Boulenger, 1896)
| 0
| Banded pitviper
| Indonesia: Djampea Island.
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| T. flavomaculatus
| (Gray, 1842)
| 2
| Philippine pitviper
| Philippine Islands: Agutayan, Batan, Camiguin, Catanduanes, Dinagat, Jolo, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Polillo.
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| T. flavoviridis
| (Hallowell, 1861)
| 0
| Habu
| Japan: Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa and Amami Islands).
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| T. gracilis
| Oshima, 1920
| 0
| Kikushi habu
| Central Taiwan.
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| T. gramineusT
| (Shaw, 1802)
| 0
| Bamboo pitviper
| Southern India.
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| T. hageni
| (Lidth de Jeude, 1886)
| 0
| Hagen's pitviper
| Peninsular Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra and the nearby islands of Bangka, Simalur, Nias, Batu and the Mentawai Islands.
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| T. jerdonii
| Günther, 1875
| 2
| Jerdon's pitviper
| India (Assam) through northern Myanmar to Tibet, China (Hupeh, Szechwan and Yunnan) and Vietnam.
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| T. kanburiensis
| Smith, 1943
| 0
| Kanburi pitviper
| Thailand.
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| T. karanshahi
| Orlov & Helfenberger, 1997
| 0
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| Central Nepal in the Himalayas.
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| T. kaulbacki
| Smith, 1940
| 0
| Kaulback's lance-headed pitviper
| Myanmar.
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| T. labialis
| Steindachner, 1867
| 0
| Nicobar bamboo pitviper
| India: Nicobar Islands.
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| T. macrolepis
| Beddome, 1862
| 0
| Large-scaled pitviper
| The mountains of southern India.
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| T. macrops
| Kramer, 1977
| 0
| Large-eyed pitviper
| Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam.
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| T. malabaricus
| (Jerdon, 1854)
| 0
| Malabar rock pitviper
| Southern and western India at 600-2,000 m elevation.
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| T. mangshanensis
| Zhao, 1990
| 0
| Mangshan pitviper
| China: Hunan Province.
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| T. medoensis
| Zhao, 1977
| 0
| Motuo bamboo pitviper
| Northern India, northern Myanmar and China (southeastern Xizang).
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| T. mucrosquamatus
| (Cantor, 1839)
| 0
| Brown spotted pitviper
| India (Assam) and Bangladesh to Myanmar, China (Fukien, Kwangshi, Kwantung and Szechwan) and Taiwan.
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| T. popeorum
| Smith, 1937
| 2
| Pope's bamboo pitviper
| 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).
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| T. puniceus
| (Kuhl, 1824)
| 0
| Flat-nosed pitviper
| Southern Thailand, West and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) and Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands of Siberut and North Pagai, Simalur and Java.
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| T. purpureomaculatus
| (Gray, 1832)
| 1
| Mangrove pit viper
| India (Assam and the Andaman Islands), Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Sumatra).
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| T. schultzei
| Griffin, 1909
| 0
| Schultze's pitviper
| Philippines: Palawan and Balabac.
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| T. stejnegeri
| Schmidt, 1925
| 2
| Stejneger's bamboo pitviper
| India (Assam), and Nepal through Myanmar and Thailand to China (Kwangsi, Kwangtung, Hainan, Fukien, Chekiang, Yunnan) and Taiwan.
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| T. strigatus
| Gray, 1842
| 0
| Horseshoe pitviper
| The hills of southern India.
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| T. sumatranus
| (Raffles, 1822)
| 1
| Sumatran pitviper
| 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 Sipora).
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| T. tibetanus
| Huang, 1982
| 0
| Tibetan bamboo pitviper
| China: Xiang (Tibet) Autonomous Region.
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| T. tokarensis
| Nagai, 1928
| 0
| Tokara habu
| Japan: Takarajima and Kotakarajima.
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| T. trigonocephalus
| (Donndorff, 1798)
| 0
| Sri Lankan green pitviper
| Throughout Sri Lanka from low elevations to about 1,800 m.
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| T. xiangchengensis
| Zhao, Jiang & Huang, 1978
| 0
| Kham Plateau pitviper
| China: Yunnan and western Sichuan.
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*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).
T) Type species.[1]
Taxonomy
This is a relatively large group that is currently undergoing taxonomic reclassification. Consequently, the number of species may vary depending on the source.
Other taxonomies may include species such as:
- T. andersonii - Theobald (1868). Commonly called Anderson's pit viper, found in the Andaman Islands of India.
- T. barati - Regenass & Kramer (1981). Commonly called Barat's bamboo viper, found in Indonesia.
- T. fucatus - Vogel, David & Pauwels (2004). Commonly called the Siamese peninsula pit viper and found in southern Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia.
- T. gumprechti - David, Vogel, Pauwels & Vidal (2002). Commonly called Gumprecht's green pit viper and found in northeastern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China and Myanmar.
- T. insularis - Kramer (1977). Commonly called the white-lipped island pit viper and found in Indonesia.
- T. malcolmi - Loveridge (1938). Commonly called Malcolm's pit viper and found on Borneo (Indonesia).
- T. nebularis - Vogel, David & Pauwels (2004). Commonly called the Cameron Highlands pit viper and found in West Malaysia (Cameron Highlands).
- T. sabahi - Regenass & Kramer (1981). Commonly called Sabah's bamboo viper and found on Borneo, Indonesia.
- T. truongsonensis - Orlov, Ryabov, Thanh & Cuc (2004). Found in central Vietnam.
- T. venustus - Vogel (1991). Commonly called the beautiful pit viper and found in southern Thailand.
- T. vogeli - David, Vidal & Pauwels (2001). Commonly called Vogel's pit viper and found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
- ^ U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
- ^ a b c d Trimeresurus (TSN 209553). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 27 September 2006.
- ^ a b Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. Asian Pitvipers. GeitjeBooks Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
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