Trimeresurus erythrurus

Trimeresurus erythrurus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Trimeresurus
Species:
T. erythrurus
Binomial name
Trimeresurus erythrurus
(Cantor, 1839)
Synonyms
  • Trigonocephalus erythrurus
    Cantor, 1839
  • Trimesurus bicolor Gray, 1853
  • Trimeresurus erythrurus
    – Günther, 1864
  • Crotalus Trimeres[urus]. erythrurus – Higgins, 1873
  • T[rimeresurus]. erythrurus
    – Theobald, 1876[1]
  • Cryptelytrops erythrurus
    – Malhotra & Thorpe, 2004
  • Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) erythrurus – David et al., 2011[2]

Trimeresurus erythrurus, commonly known as the red-tailed bamboo pitviper,[3] redtail bamboo pit viper, and redtail pit viper is a venomous pit viper species found in South Asia and Myanmar. No subspecies are currently recognized.[2]

Description

Males grow to a maximum total length 575 millimetres (22.6 in), of which the tail is 120 millimetres (4.7 in) in length. Females reach a maximum total length of 1,045 millimetres (41.1 in), with a tail length of 165 millimetres (6.5 in).[4]

Scalation: dorsal scales in 23–25 longitudinal rows at midbody; first upper labial partially or completely fused to nasal; 9–13 upper labials, 1–2 rows of scales separate upper labials from the suboculars; 11–14 scales in a line between supraoculars; supraoculars rarely divided; temporal scales small, strongly keeled; ventral scales: males 153–174, females: 151–180; subcaudals: males 62–79, females 49–61, usually paired, occasionally unpaired shields present among paired series.[4]

Color pattern: head uniform green, dorsum bright green, light ventrolateral stripe present in males, present or absent in females (Maslin [1942:23] says that the ventrolateral stripe is absent, but M.A. Smith [1943:523] states that it is present in males and variable in females), tail spotted with brown; hemipenes without spines.[4]

Geographic range

Found in eastern India (Assam, Sikkim, Manipur), Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Nepal.[2] The original type locality given was as "Delta Gangeticum" (Ganges Delta, West Bengal State, eastern India). The type locality given by Boulenger (1896) is "Ganges Delta."[1]

References

  1. ^ a b McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. ^ a b c Trimeresurus erythrurus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 16 November 2020.
  3. ^ Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. Asian Pitvipers. GeitjeBooks. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
  4. ^ a b c Leviton, A.E.; Wogan, G.O.U.; Koo, M.S.; Zug, G.R.; Lucas, R.S. & Vindum, J.V. (2003). "The dangerously venomous snakes of Myanmar. Illustrated checklist with keys" (PDF). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 54 (24): 407–462.

Further reading

  • Cantor, T.E. 1839. Spicilegium serpentium indicorum [parts 1 and 2]. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 7: 31–34, 49–55.
  • Cantor, T.E. 1840. Spicilegium Serpentium Indicorum. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) 4: 271–279.
  • Gumprecht, A. 2001. Die Bambusottern der Gattung Trimeresurus Lacépède Teil IV: Checkliste der Trimeresurus-Arten Thailands. Sauria 23 (2): 25–32.
  • Maslin, T. Paul. 1942. Evidence for the Separation of the Crotalid Genera Trimeresurus and Bothrops, with a Key to the Genus Trimeresurus. Copeia 1942 (1): 18–24.
  • Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, Printers). London. xii + 583 pp. (Trimeresurus erythrurus, pp. 522–523.)
  • Toriba, Michihisa. 1994. Karyotype of Trimeresurus erythrurus. Snake 26 (2): 141–143.