Trimeresurus gumprechti DAVID, VOGEL, PAUWELS & VIDAL, 2002
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Higher Taxa | Viperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Gumprecht’s green pitviper Chinese: 冈氏竹叶青蛇 |
Synonym | Trimeresurus gumprechti DAVID, VOGEL, PAUWELS & VIDAL 2002 Trimeresurus gumprechti — GUMPRECHT et al. 2004 Viridovipera gumprechti — MALHOTRA & THORPE 2004 Viridovipera gumprechti — DAWSON et al. 2008 Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) gumprechti — DAVID et al. 2011 Viridovipera gumprechti — WALLACH et al. 2014: 790 Viridovipera gumprechti — CHAN-ARD et al. 2015: 288 Viridovipera gumprechti — GUO et al. 2018 Viridovipera gumprechti — WANG et al. 2022 Trimeresurus gumprechti— RATHEE et al. 2022 Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) gumprechti — MIRZA et al. 2023 |
Distribution | NE Thailand (Loei, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun and Chaiyaphum), Laos, Vietnam (Hoa Binh, Bac Giang, Cao Bang), China (Yunnan), Myanmar Type locality: Phu Luang Wildlife Research Station, about 15 km northwest of the City of Phu Luang and 45 km southwest of the City of Loei, Loei Province, Thailand. |
Reproduction | ovovivparous |
Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 1999.9072; paratypes: ZFMK 68524, MNHN-RA 1999.9073, PSUAA 0047, RFI 1345 |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis:–A species of the genus Trimeresurus, characterized by (1) hemipenes short and strongly spinose; (2) overall bright green coloration in males, deep or dark green in females; (3) interstitial skin black; (4) large size, with a total length greater than 1200 mm in females; (5) conspicuous bicolored postocular stripe in males, thin and white below, wide and bright red above, reversed from the scheme of the ventrolateral stripe (only thin and white in females); (6) vivid, wide bicolored ventrolateral stripe, bright or deep red below/white above in males, extending along the lower part of the first third of the tail, white or blue but well defined in females; (7) eyes deep red in males, yellow in females; (8) tail mostly rusty or reddish-brown (see below); (9) tail long in males, with a ratio TaL/TL ranging from 0.160.21, rather short in females, 0.14-0.16; (10) VEN: 162-168; SC: 51-71; (11) first supralabial distinct from nasal; (12) 21 dorsal scale rows at midbody, moderately keeled; (13) snout covered with rather enlarged juxtaposed scales; (14) internasals either in contact or separated by only 1 scale; (15) supraoculars narrower than internasals, separated by 10-12 smooth cephalic scales. T. gumprechti differs from all other green pitvipers by the combination of the following characters: (1) short, spinose hemipenis, (2) first supralabials separated from the nasal, (3) the very conspicuous (at least in life) reversed bicolored postocular stripe, white below and wide, bright or deep red above, always present in males (postocular streak only white in females), (4) the ventrolateral stripe, bright red below and white above in males, running under the first third of the tail, white in females, (5) eyes deep red in males, (6) black interstitial skin, (7) upper snout scales enlarged, (8) internasal scales often in contact or separated by at most one scale and (9) greatest part of upper surface of the tail rusty red. These characters and the comparisons with other species are detailed below in the Discussion. |
Comment | Venomous! This species is related to T. stejnegeri, with which it was formerly confused. The new species is large (to 130 cm). It may also occur in northwestern Laos. Habitat: fully arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). |
Etymology | Named after Andreas Gumprecht, German herpetologist. |
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