You are here » home advanced search search results Trimeresurus popeiorum

Trimeresurus popeiorum SMITH, 1937

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Trimeresurus popeiorum?

Add your own observation of
Trimeresurus popeiorum »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Pope’s Tree Viper, Pope's Bamboo Pit Viper, Pope’s Green Pit Viper
G: Popes Bambusotter, Popes Lanzenotter
Chinese: 坡普竹叶青蛇
E: Yingjiang green pitviper [yingjiangensis]
Chinese: Yíng jiāng zhú yè qīng (盈江竹叶青) [yingjiangensis] 
SynonymTrimeresurus popeiorum SMITH 1937
Trimeresurus popeorum — GRANDISON 1972: 94
Trimeresurus popeiorum — COX et al. 1998: 21
Trimeresurus popeorum — HOFFMANN 1998
Trimeresurus popeorum — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 340
Trimeresurus popeiorum — TU et al. 2000
Trimeresurus popeiorum — VOGEL et al. 2004
Popeia popeiorum — MALHOTRA & THORPE 2004
Popeia popeiorum — GRISMER et al. 2006
Trimeresurus popeiorum — DAVID et al. 2009
Trimeresurus (Popeia) popeiorum — DAVID et al. 2011
Popeia popeorum — WALLACH et al. 2014: 575
Popeia popeiorum — GUO et al. 2015
Popeia popeiorum — CHAN-ARD et al. 2015: 291
Trimeresurus popeiorum — MULCAHY et al. 2017
Popeia popeiorum — GUO et al. 2018
Trimeresurus yingjiangensis CHEN, ZHANG, SHI, TANG, GUO, SONG & DING 2019
Popeia yingjiangensis — WANG 2022
Trimeresurus popeiorum — MIRZA et al. 2023 
DistributionNE India (Mizoram etc.), Nepal, Myanmar (= Burma), N Thailand, N Laos (Oudômxay, Xaignabouli, Louangphrabang, Phôngsali, Vientiane), Malaysia (Pulau Tioman? [LIM & LIM 1999]); China (Yunnan)

Type locality: Khasi Hills, Assam (State of Meghalaya), India (designated by TAYLOR & ELBEL 1958)

yingjiangensis: China (Yunnan), Myanmar (Htamanthi wildlife sanctuary, Sagaing Division); Type locality: Heihe Village, Kachang Town, Yingjiang County, Yunnan Province (24.782° N, 97.878° E, 1112 m elevation)  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 72.4.17.137 (Lectotype)
Holotype: CIB DL2017070101, adult male, collected by Li DING on 19 July 2017 (Figure 1). Paratypes: ZL-tspynglg-2018- 01(allotype, GIABR) adult female, collected from Heping Village, Tongbiguan Town, Yingjiang County, Yunnan Province (24.584° N, 97.738° E, 1 200 m) by Jian XU. DL201070102 (CIB), adult male, and DL201070103 (CIB), adult male, collected by Li DING at the same time as Holotype. OV2671 (IVPP), collected from the Yingjiang County (24.734° N, 97.843° E, 1074 m) by Jingsong SHI on 6 September 2017. [yingjiangensis] 
DiagnosisDIAGNOSIS (DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS): Scales in 21 (rarely 23) longitudinal rows at midbody; 9–11 upper labials, first upper labials separated from nasals by a distinct suture; a single supraocular; above green, below pale green to whitish, the two separated by a bright bicolored orange or brown (below) and white (above) (males) or white (females) ventrolateral stripe, which occupies the whole of the outermost scale row and a portion of the second row; ventrals 155–169; subcaudals 52–76, in males the base of the tail enlarged to the level of subcaudals 20–25; hemipenes long and slender, smooth, without spines. Total length 770 mm, tail length 170 mm. [after LEVITON 2003]


Additional details (7788 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Distribution: Possibly in Bhutan (Lenz 2012).

Synonymy: "Contrary to Hoge & Romano Hoge (1981: 257) and Welch (1988: 137), we consider that the specific name gramineus must be restricted to the form inhabiting the Peninsular India, and that the correct name for the species distributed in Sumatra and other parts of southeastern Asia is Trimeresurus popeiorum Smith, 1937." (from David & Vogel 1996). Mirza et al. 2023 synonymized T. yingjiangensis with T. popeiorum which was confirmed by Idiiatullina et al. 2024.

Diversity: Mulcahy et al. 2017 found populations of T. popeiorum that are paraphyletic with T. nebularis but are morphologically indistinguishable from T. popeiorum and hence appear to be a cryptic species.

Similar species: Most often confused with T. stejnegeri (q.v.), the two have quite distinct hemipenes, which does not make identification of individuals in the field or in the laboratory any easier without recourse to (a) male individuals and (b) an examination of the hemipenes. However, the two species are not known to have overlapping distributions, at least based on available materials. Also, closely allied to T. popeiorum is T. yunnanensis (q.v.); ordinarily, the two are more easily be told apart by the number of midbody scale rows, 21 in T. popeiorum, 19 in T. yunnanensis (from LEVITON et al. 2003).

Type species: Trimeresurus popeiorum is the type species of the genus Popeia MALHOTRA & THORPE 2004. Popeia may not be valid fide Li et al. 2020.

For abbreviations see T. nebularis.

Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018).

NCBI taxonID: 2653482 [yingjiangensis] 
EtymologyThis species was named in honour to Clifford H. Pope and Sarah H. Pope. The original spelling of the specific epithet, popeiorum, was corrected into popeorum by Smith (1943: 518) on the basis that it was indeed a clerical error. Unfortunately, according to the Art. 32 (c, ii) of the Code (ICZN 1985), such a change does not fall into the category of a „correction of an incorrect original spelling According to the Art. 33 (d), the use of a termination -orum in a subsequent spelling of a species-group name that is a genitive based upon a personal name in which the correct original spelling terminates with -iorum, is an incorrect subsequent spelling, even if the change is deliberate. The original spelling, popeiorum, must therefore be conserved." (from David & Vogel 1996)

This issue is adressed again in Biology of the Vipers (Schuett et al, ed., 2002). On page 353 Orlov et al. state that "The specific epithet is most commonly spelled popeorum. [...] William W. Lamar (in litt.) has communicated to us, however, that Smith (1943) was clearly correcting a copyist's error, that such a change was allowed at the time, and that it was specifically allowed under the first published ICZN. While the 1985 and subsequent Codes prohibit this, they apply only to actions taken post-1985. Thus, the correct name is popeorum."

The specific name yingjiangensis refers to the location of type specimens, Yingjiang Country, Yunnan Province, China. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Biakzuala, Lal; Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga, Vishal Santra, Joseph Ramhermawia, Chenkual Malsawmtluangi, Hmar Lalrinkima 2021. Intestinal obstruction associated with helminth parasitic infection in a wild-caught Pope’s Green Pitviper, Trimeresurus popeiorum Smith 1937. Reptiles & Amphibians 28 (2): 224-226
  • Bulian, J. 2003. ...und Action! Auf der Suche nach Reptilien in Südthailand. Draco 4 (15): 39-43 - get paper here
  • Chan-ard, T., Parr, J.W.K. & Nabhitabhata, J. 2015. A field guide to the reptiles of Thailand. Oxford University Press, NY, 352 pp. [see book reviews by Pauwels & Grismer 2015 and Hikida 2015 for corrections] - get paper here
  • Chan-ard,T.; Grossmann,W.; Gumprecht,A. & Schulz,K. D. 1999. Amphibians and reptiles of peninsular Malaysia and Thailand - an illustrated checklist [bilingual English and German]. Bushmaster Publications, Würselen, Gemany, 240 pp. [book review in Russ. J Herp. 7: 87] - get paper here
  • CHEN, Zening; Liang ZHANG, Jingsong SHI, Yezhong TANG, Yuhong GUO, Zhaobin SONG and Li DING 2019. A New Species of the Genus Trimeresurus from Southwest China (Squamata: Viperidae). Asian Herpetological Research 10 (1): 13–23 - get paper here
  • Cox, Merel J.; Van Dijk, Peter Paul; Jarujin Nabhitabhata & Thirakhupt,Kumthorn 1998. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Ralph Curtis Publishing, 144 pp.
  • 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., Petri, M., Vogel, G. & G. Doria 2009. A new species of pitviper of the genus Trimeresurus (Popeia) from northern Sumatra (REPTILIA, SQUAMATA, VIPERIDAE). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "G. Doria", Genova 100: 323-346
  • 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,P. & Vogel, G. 1996. The snakes of Sumatra. An annotated checklist and key with natural history notes. Bücher Kreth, Frankfurt/M.
  • Dowling, H.G., & Jenner, J.V. 1988. Snakes of Burma: checklist of reported species and bibliography. Smithsonian Herp. Inf. Serv. (76): 19 pp. - get paper here
  • Dring J C M 1979. Amphibians and reptiles from northern Trengganu, Malaysia, with descriptions of two new geckos: Cnemaspis and Cyrtodactylus. Bulletin of the British Museum (NATURAL HISTORY) ZOOLOGY 34 (5): 181-241 - get paper here
  • Gotzmann, B. 2011. Popeia popeiorum - Popes Bambusotter: ein persönlicher Haltungsbericht. Elaphe 19 (4): 46-49
  • Grandison, A.G.C. 1972. The Gunong Benom Expedition 1967. 5. Reptiles and amphibians of Gunong Benom with a description of a new species of Macrocalamus. Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Zool.), London, 23: 45-101. - get paper here
  • GRISMER, L.L.; J.L. GRISMER & J.A. MCGUIRE 2006. A new species of pitviper of the genus Popeia (Squamata: Viperidae) from Pulau Tioman, Pahang, West Malaysia. Zootaxa 1305: 1-19 - get paper here
  • Gumprecht, A.; Tillack, F.; Orlov, N.L.; Captain, A. & Ryabow, S. 2004. Asian pitvipers. Geitje Books, Berlin, 368 pp.
  • Gumprecht,A. 2001. Die Bambusottern der Gattung Trimeresurus Lacépède Teil IV: Checkliste der Trimeresurus-Arten Thailands. Sauria 23 (2): 25-32 - get paper here
  • Guo, P.; Jadin, R.C.; Malhotra, A. & Li, C. 2009. An investigation of the cranial evolution of Asian pitvipers (Serpentes: Crotalinae), with comments on the phylogenetic position of Peltopelor macrolepis. Acta Zoologica 91: 402-407 - 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
  • Hoffmann, P. 1998. Mount Kinabalu - Skizze eines Lebensraumes. Elaphe 6 (2): 83-90
  • Idiiatullina, S. S., Van Nguyen, T., Pawangkhanant, P., Suwannapoom, C., Chanhome, L., Mirza, Z. A., ... & Poyarkov, N. A. 2024. An integrative taxonomic revision of the Trimeresurus popeiorum group of pitvipers (Reptilia: Serpentes: Viperidae) with descriptions of two new species from the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. Vertebrate Zoology 74, 303-342 - get paper here
  • Janzen, Peter 2021. Amphibien und Reptilien Thailands – Teil 2: Der Nordwesten um Chiang Mai. Sauria 43 (3): 1-22
  • Kästle , W., Rai, K. & Schleich, H.H. 2013. FIELD GUIDE to Amphibians and Reptiles of Nepal. ARCO-Nepal e.V., 625 pp. - get paper here
  • Lalremsanga, H.T.; Saipari Sailo and Chinliansiama 2011. Diversity of Snakes (Reptilia: Squamata) and Role of Environmental Factors in Their Distribution in Mizoram, Northeast India. Advances in Environmental Chemistry - 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
  • Li, J-N., Liang, D., Wang, Y-Y., Guo, P., Huang, S., Zhang, P. 2020. A Large-scale Systematic Framework of Chinese Snakes Based on a Unified Multilocus Marker System. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - get paper here
  • Lim, K.K.P. & Ng, H.H. 1999. The terrestrial herpetofauna of Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia. Raffles Bull. Zool., Suppl. No. 6: 131-155 - 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
  • Manthey, U. & Grossmann, W. 1997. Amphibien & Reptilien Südostasiens. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 512 pp. - get paper here
  • Maury, N., David, P., & Sudavanh, S. 2023. THE SNAKE FAUNA OF LAOS WITH NEW PROVINCIAL RECORDS. TAPROBANICA 11 (2): 84–93 - get paper here
  • Maury, Nathanaël; Patrick David & Somchit Sudavanh 2022. THE SNAKE FAUNA OF LAOS WITH NEW PROVINCIAL RECORDS TAPROBANICA 11 (02): 84–93 - 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.
  • Mirza ZA, H. T. Lalremsanga, Bhosale H, Gowande G, Patel H, Idiatullina SS, Poyarkov NA 2023. Systematics of Trimeresurus popeiorum Smith, 1937 with a revised molecular phylogeny of Asian pitvipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 sensu lato. Evolutionary Systematics 7(1): 91-104 - get paper here
  • MULCAHY, DANIEL G.; JUSTIN L. LEE, ARYEH H. MILLER, GEORGE R. ZUG 2017. Troublesome Trimes: Potential cryptic speciation of the Trimeresurus (Popeia) popeiorum complex (Serpentes: Crotalidae) around the Isthmus of Kra (Myanmar and Thailand). . Zootaxa 4347 (2): 301-315 - get paper here
  • Nguyen TV, Brakels P, Maury N, Sudavanh S, Pawangkhanant P, Idiiatullina S, Lorphengsy S, Inkhavilay K, Suwannapoom C, Poyarkov NA. 2020. New herpetofaunal observations from Laos based on photo records. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 14(2) [General Section]: 218–249 (e248) - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Purkayastha J. 2013. An Amateur’s Guide to Reptiles of Assam. EBH Publishers (India) - get paper here
  • SANDERS, Kate L.; ANITA MALHOTRA and ROGER S. THORPE 2006. Combining molecular, morphological and ecological data to infer species boundaries in a cryptic tropical pitviper. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 87: 343–364 - get paper here
  • Schuett, G. W.; Höggren, M.; Douglas, M.E. & Greene, H.W. (eds.) 2002. Biology of the vipers. Eagle Mountain Publishing, Utah. - get paper here
  • Sharma, R. C. 2004. Handbook Indian Snakes. AKHIL BOOKS, New Delhi, 292 pp.
  • Smith, M.A. 1937. The names of two indian vipers. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 39: 730-731 - get paper here
  • 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.
  • Sumontha,M., Kunya,K., S. G. Pauwels,O., Nitikul,A., and Punnadee,S. 2011. Trimeresurus (Popeia) phuketensis, a New Pitviper (Squamata: Viperidae) from Phuket Island, Southwestern Thailand. Russ. J. Herpetol. 18 (3): 11-17 - get paper here
  • Taylor, Edward H. & Elbel, Robert E. 1958. Contribution to the Herpetology of Thailand. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 38 (13): 1033-1189 - get paper here
  • Taylor,E.H. 1965. The serpents of Thailand and adjacent waters. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 45 (9): 609-1096 - 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
  • Tu, M.-C. et al. 2000. Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of the Oriental Pitvipers of the Genus Trimeresurus (Reptilia: Viperidae: Crotalinae): A Molecular Perspective. Zoological Science 17: 1147–1157 - get paper here
  • Vogel, G. 1990. Über eine verkannte Trimeresurus - Art aus Thailand. Sauria 12 (2): 11-13 - get paper here
  • Vogel, G.; David, P. & Pauwels, O.S.G. 2004. A review of morphological variation in Trimeresurus popeiorum (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae), with the description of two new species. Zootaxa 727: 1–63 - get paper here
  • Vogel, Gernot 2010. Zur Systematik der Schlangen der orientalischen Region: Forschungsdefizite führen zur Unterschätzung der Artenvielfalt. Ophidia 4 (2): 18-26 - 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 K, Lyu ZT, Wang J, Qi S, Che J 2022. Updated Checklist and Zoogeographic Division of the Reptilian Fauna of Yunnan Province, China. Biodiversity Science 30 (4): 21326, 1–31 - get paper here
  • 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
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Trimeresurus&species=popeiorum

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator