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Trimeresurus medoensis ZHAO, 1977

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Green Bamboo Leaf Pit Viper, Motuo bamboo pitviper
Chinese: 墨脱竹叶青蛇 
SynonymTrimeresurus medoensis ZHAO 1977
Trimeresurus medoensis — WELCH 1994: 115
Trimeresurus medoensis — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 339
Trimeresurus medoensis — LEVITON et al. 2003
Trimeresurus medoensis — GUMPRECHT et al. 2004
Viridovipera medoensis — MALHOTRA & THORPE 2004
Viridovipera medoensis — DAWSON et al. 2008
Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) medoensis — DAVID et al. 2011
Viridovipera medoensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 790
Viridovipera medoensis — GUO et al. 2018
Trimeresurus medoensis— RATHEE et al. 2022
Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) medoensis — MIRZA et al. 2023
Viridovipera medoensis — THAKUR et al. 2024 
DistributionN Myanmar (= Burma), E India,
W China (SE Xizang = Tibet)

Type locality: near Ani Bridge, Motuo, Xizang, at 1200 m elevation.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: CIB 73-II-5208 
DiagnosisDIAGNOSIS (DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS). Scales in 17 longitudinal rows at midbody, dorsal rows 7–11 slightly keeled; 8 upper labials, first upper labials separated from nasals by a distinct suture; green or bluish green above, yellowish white below, the two separated by a bright bicolored red (below) and white (above) ventrolateral stripe (in both males and females), which occupies the whole of the outermost scale row and a portion of the second row; ventrals less than 150; hemipenes short, thick, spinose. Total length males 671 mm, females 650; tail length males 125 mm, females 115 mm. [after LEVITON 2003]
 
CommentVenomous!

Authors are listed as “DJAO in DJAO & JIANG 1977” in WELCH 1994.

Distribution: Possibly in Bhutan (Lenz 2012).

Habitat: fully arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). 
References
  • Das, I. 2012. A Naturalist's Guide to the Snakes of South-East Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. Oxford J, ohn Beaufoy Publishing - get paper here
  • David, P., G. Vogel, O.S.G. Pauwels & N. Vidal 2002. Description of a new species of the genus Trimeresurus from Thailand, related to Trimeresurus stejnegeri Schmidt, 1925 (Serpentes, Crotalidae). Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University, 2 (1): 5-19 - get paper here
  • DAVID, P., N. VIDAL & S. G. PAUWELS 2001. A morphological study of Stejneger's pitviper Trimeresurus stejnegeri (Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae), with the description of a new species from Thailand. Russ. J. Herpetol. 8 (3): 205-222 - get paper here
  • David, Patrick, Ashok Captain and Bharat B. Bhatt 2002. On the occurrence of Trimeresurus medoensis Djao in: Djao & Jaing, 1977 (Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae) in India, with a redescription of the species and notes on its biology. Hamadryad 26(2):210-226 [2001] - get paper here
  • DAVID, PATRICK; GERNOT VOGEL & ALAIN DUBOIS 2011. On the need to follow rigorously the Rules of the Code for the subsequent designation of a nucleospecies (type species) for a nominal genus which lacked one: the case of the nominal genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae). Zootaxa 2992: 1–51 - get paper here
  • David, Patrick; Tong, Haiyan 1997. Translations of recent descriptions of Chinese pitvipers of the Trimeresurus-complex (Serpentes, Viperidae), with a key to the complex in China and adjacent areas. Smithsonian Herp. Inf. Serv. (112): 1-31 - get paper here
  • Dawson, Karen; Anita Malhotra, Roger S. Thorpe, Peng Guo, Mrinalini and Thomas Ziegler 2008. Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals a new member of the Asian pitviper genus Viridovipera (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49: 356-361 - get paper here
  • Griffin, R., Martin, G. Whitaker, R. & Lewis, T.R. 2012. Distribution, morphology, and natural history of the Medo Pit Viper, Viridovipera medoensis (Viperidae, Crotalinae) in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeastern India. Reptiles & Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History 19 (4): 236-241 - get paper here
  • Gumprecht, A.; Tillack, F.; Orlov, N.L.; Captain, A. & Ryabow, S. 2004. Asian pitvipers. Geitje Books, Berlin, 368 pp.
  • Guo, P., F. J. Zhang, and Y. Y. Chen. 1999. Catalogue of type specimens of reptiles in the Herpetological Collections of Chengdu Institute of Biology,the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Asiatic Herpetological Research 8: 43~47 - get paper here
  • Guo, Peng; Qin Liu, Guanghui Zhong, Fei Zhu, Fang Yan, Ting Tang, Rong Xiao, Min Fang, Ping Wang and Xin Fu 2015. Cryptic diversity of green pitvipers in Yunnan, South-west China (Squamata, Viperidae). Amphibia-Reptilia 36 (3): 265 - 276 - get paper here
  • Harrington, Sean M; Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane 2018. Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 125 (1): 61–71 - get paper here
  • Lenz, Norbert 2012. Von Schmetterlingen und Donnerdrachen - Natur und Kultur in Bhutan. Karlsruher Naturhefte 4, Naturkundemuseum Karlsruhe, 124 pp.
  • Leviton, Alan E.; Guinevere O.U. Wogan; Michelle S. Koo; George R. Zug; Rhonda S. Lucas and Jens V. Vindum 2003. The Dangerously Venomous Snakes of Myanmar Illustrated Checklist with Keys. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 54 (24): 407–462 - get paper here
  • Malhotra, Anita & Thorpe, Roger S. 2004. A phylogeny of four mitochondrial gene regions suggests a revised taxonomy for Asian pitvipers (Trimeresurus and Ovophis). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 32: 83 –100 [erratum p. 680] - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Peng, G. & Fuji, Z. 2001. Comparative studies on hemipenes of four species of Trimeresurus (sensu stricto) (Serpentes: Crotalinae). Amphibia-Reptilia 22 (1): 113-117 - get paper here
  • Purkayastha, JAYADITYA; SOMLEE GUPTA, RUPANKAR BHATTACHARJEE & SANATH BOHRA 2020. Self-inflicted bites by two venomous snake species: Medo’s pit viper Trimeresurus medoensis and lesser black krait Bungarus lividus. Herpetological Bulletin 154: - get paper here
  • Rathee, Y. S., Purkayastha, J., Lalremsanga, H. T., Dalal, S., Biakzuala, L., Muansanga, L., & Mirza, Z. A. 2022. A new cryptic species of green pit viper of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Serpentes, Viperidae) from northeast India. PloS one, 17(5), e0268402 - get paper here
  • Thakur, S., Giri, S., Lalremsenga, H. T., & Doley, R. 2024. Indian green pit vipers: A lesser-known snake group of north-east India. Toxicon, 107689 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Wang, Kai; Jinlong Ren, Hongman Chen, Zhitong Lyu, Xianguang Guo Ke Jiang, Jinmin Chen, Jiatang Li, Peng Guo, Yingyong Wang, Jing Che 2020. The updated checklists of amphibians and reptiles of China. Biodiversity Science 28 (2): 189-218 - get paper here
  • Whitaker, Romulus and Ashok Captain 2004. Snakes of India. Draco Books, 500 pp., reprinted 2007 - get paper here
  • Zhao, E. M. & Jiang,Y. M. 1977. A survey of reptiles in Xizang Autonomous Region, with faunal analysis & descriptions of new forms. [in Chinese] Acta Zool. Sinica, Peking, 23: 64-71
  • Zhao, E.M. 2006. The snakes of China [in Chinese]. Hefei, China, Anhui Sience & Technology Publ. House, Vol. I, 372 pp., Vol. II (color plates), 280 pp.
 
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