Trimeresurus cornutus

Trimeresurus cornutus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Trimeresurus
Species: T. cornutus
Binomial name
Trimeresurus cornutus
M.A. Smith, 1930[2]
Synonyms
  • Trimeresurus cornutus
    M.A. Smith, 1930
  • Ceratrimeresurus shenlii
    Liang & Liu, 2003
  • Protobothrops cornutus
    Herrmann et al., 2004[3]
Common names: Fan-Si-Pan horned pitviper.[4]

Trimeresurus cornutus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Vietnam. Previously, it had been known from only two specimens, but was recently rediscovered in the central part of the country. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5]

Geographic range

Found in Vietnam in Bạch Mã and Tonkin. The type locality given is "Fan-si-pan mountains, Tonkin, Indo-China"[2] (Mount Fansipan, Sa Pa District, Nghệ An Province, northwestern Vietnam).[4]

Gumprecht et al. (2004) write that, previously, this species had been known from only two specimens, but was rediscovered in central Vietnam (Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Quảng Bình Province) in 2001 (Ziegler and Herrmann, 2002).[4]

Habitat

It occurs in rainforests at low elevations.[2]

Close-up of head, showing "horns" to which the specific name, cornutus, refers.

Conservations status

This species is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2001).[1]

Taxonomy

Herrmann et al. (2004) moved this species to the genus Protobothrops based on external and hemipenal morphology, as well as molecular data.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22151/0
  2. 1 2 3 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).
  3. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. Asian Pitvipers. GeitjeBooks. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
  5. "Trimeresurus cornutus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 August 2007.

Further reading

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