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Hypnale nepa (LAURENTI, 1768)

IUCN Red List - Hypnale nepa - Least Concern, LC

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Sri Lanka Humpnose Viper 
SynonymColuber nepa LAURENTI 1768: 97
Hypnale nepa — GÜNTHER 1864 (part.)
Ancistrodon hypnale BOULENGER 1896
Ancistrodon nepa — SMITH 1937
Ancistrodon nepa — SMITH 1943: 500
Agkistrodon nepa — TAYLOR 1950: 595
Agkistrodon walli GLOYD 1977
Hypnale walli — WELCH 1994: 67
Hypnale nepa — WELCH 1994: 67
Hypnale nepa — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 310
Hypnale walli — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 311
Hypnale walli — GUMPRECHT et al. 2004
Hypnale nepa — GUMPRECHT et al. 2004
Hypnale nepa — WALLACH et al. 2014: 343 
DistributionSri Lanka, elevations above 900 m.

Type locality: “obviously Sri Lanka” fide HOGE & ROMANO-HOGE (1981: 199); originally given as “Habitat in Africa”, in error. Type locality of neotype: Agra Arboretum, Agarapatana, 06º50’N, 80º40’ E, elevation 1665 m.

walli: S Sri Lanka;Type locality: Kanneliya Forest, Udugama, Southern Province, Ceylon, elevation approx. 1000 ft.  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesNeotype: NMSL (= WHT) 6515 (designated by MAduwage et al. 2009) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Hypnale nepa is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: snout tip flattened or moderately raised, with 5–15 minute scales forming a wart-like protuberance at tip of snout (Fig. 4a, b); 12–25, heterogeneous scales on internasal-prefrontal region (Fig. 4b); 6–9 scales surround eye (supraocular + 2 postoculars + 0–3 suboculars + 2 preoculars + postfoveal) (Fig. 4a); 4 or 5 scales surround maxillary pit—lower preocular + postfoveal + lacunal + upper edge of second supralabial, or lower preocular + postfoveal + lacunal + upper posterior border of second supralabial and a small scale above lacunal (see Fig. 4a); 1–3 scales between postfoveal and 2nd and 3rd supralabials (Fig. 4a); postocular, 1st lower temporal, and 4th and 5th supralabials surround a rhomboid (‘diamond’-shaped) scale of similar size (Fig. 4a). Supralabials 7 or 8; a lacunal scale present; mid-dorsal scales smooth (Fig. 4g); ventrals 122–134; subcaudal series divided medially, with 27–41 scales. Hemipenial lobe with large spines on proximal two-thirds of its length; distal third with calyces, not spinous (Fig. 4d). Hypnale nepa is distinguished from H. hypnale by possessing (vs lacking) a wart-like protuberance at the tip of the snout; having 1–3 (vs no) scales between the postfoveal and the 2nd and 3rd supralabials; having the postocular, 1st lower temporal, and 4th and 5th supralabials separated by a rhomboid scale of similar size (vs in contact); having the mid-dorsal scales smooth (vs all costal scales keeled); possessing 122–134 (vs 141– 158) ventrals; and having the hemipenial lobes with large spines on their proximal two-thirds (vs lobes smooth, lacking spines). It is distinguished from H. zara by having the snout tip flattened or only slightly raised (vs snout distinctly elevated); 12–25 (vs 18–39) heterogeneous scales on internasal-prefrontal region; 4–5 (vs 3) scales surrounding maxillary pit; 1–3 (vs no) scales between postfoveal and 2nd and 3rd supralabials; having the lower postocular, 1st lower temporal, and 4th and 5th supralabials surrounding a rhomboid scale of similar size (vs in contact, no scale between them); a lacunal scale present (vs absent); the mid-dorsal scales smooth (vs all costal scales keeled); 122–134 (vs 134–157) ventrals; and the hemipenial lobe with large spines (vs without spines) on proximal two-thirds of its length. It is distinguished from Hypnale sp. ‘amal’ by possessing (vs lacking) a wart-like protuberance on the snout tip; having 1–3 (vs no) scales between postfoveal and 2nd and 3rd supralabials; the lower postocular, 1st lower temporal, and 4th and 5th supralabials separated by a rhomboid scale of similar size (vs in contact, no scale between them); 7 or 8 (vs 9) supralabials; first infralabials on either side separated by a median suture (vs medially fused); mid-dorsal scales smooth (vs all costal scales keeled); 122–134 (vs 151) ventrals; hemipenial lobe with large spines on proximal two-thirds of its length (vs not spinous); two rows of distinct, bilaterally symmetrical blotches meeting on dorsal midline (vs a distinct purple-brown paravertebral stripe, about 3 scales wide, from neck to level of vent). (Maduwage et al. 2009 : 10)


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CommentVenomous! 
References
  • Abeyrathne, P.A.B.P.; R.A.G.N. Ranatunga, S.S. Abayaratne & S.K. Bandara 2023. New records of hump-nosed viper Hypnale nepa from the Horton Plains, Sri Lanka. TAPROBANICA 12 (1): 28 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor & Francis, London, xviii, 541 pp. - get paper here
  • Ganesh, S. R.; Subramanian Bhupathy, Patrick David, N. Sathishkumar, G. Srinivas 2014. Snake Fauna of High Wavy Mountains, Western Ghats, India: Species Richness, Status, and Distribution Pattern. Russ. J. Herpetol. 21 (1): 53-64
  • Gloyd, H.K. 1977. Descriptions of new taxa of crotalid snakes from China and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 90: 1002-1015 - get paper here
  • Gumprecht, A.; Tillack, F.; Orlov, N.L.; Captain, A. & Ryabow, S. 2004. Asian pitvipers. Geitje Books, Berlin, 368 pp.
  • Hoge & Romano-Hoge 1981. Poisonous snakes of the world. Part I. Check list of the pit vipers, Viperoidea, Viperidae, Crotalinae. Mem. Inst. Butantan 42/43 [1978-1979]: 179-309 - get paper here
  • JANZEN, P. 2021. Morningside – ein herpetologisches Highlight Sri Lankas. Sauria 43 (1): 9-37 - get paper here
  • Janzen, P.; Klaas, P. & Ziesmann, S. 2007. Sri Lankas Schlangenfauna. Draco 7 (30): 56-64 - get paper here
  • Laurenti, J. N. 1768. Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austracorum, quod authoritate et consensu. Vienna, Joan. Thomae, 217 pp. - get paper here
  • Madawala, Majintha; Thilina D Surasinghe, Anslem De Silva, Dinesh Gabadage, Madhava Botejue, Indika Peabotuwage, Dushantha Kandambi, Suranjan Karunarathna 2019. Reappraisal of Herpetofauna Recorded from Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Sri Lanka with Remarks on Conservation, Diversity, and Distribution. Russ. J. Herpetol. 26 (5): 247-260 - get paper here
  • MADUWAGE, KALANA; ANJANA SILVA, KELUM MANAMENDRA-ARACHCHI & ROHAN PETHIYAGODA 2009. A taxonomic revision of the South Asian hump-nosed pit vipers (Squamata: Viperidae: Hypnale). Zootaxa 2232: 1-28 - 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.
  • Smith, M.A. 1943. The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region. Reptilia and Amphibia. 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London. 583 pp.
  • Taylor, Edward H. 1950. The snakes of Ceylon. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 33 (14): 519-603 - 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.
 
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