Trimeresurus trigonocephalus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trimeresurus trigonocephalus | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||||||
Trimeresurus trigonocephalus (Donndorff, 1798) |
||||||||||||||||||||
Synonyms | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
- Common names: Sri Lankan green pitviper.[2]
Trimeresurus trigonocephalus is a venomous pitviper species found in Sri Lanka. No subspecies are currently recognized.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Description
A sexually dimporphic species, at a maximum of 70 cm in length the males are considerably smaller than females, which can grow to 130 cm. In addition, male tends to have a blue coloration, whereas the females are predominantly green. These are bulky snakes with a prehensile tail, suiting their arboreal lifestyle.
[edit] Geographic range
Found all over the island of Sri Lanka, from the lower altitudes to about 1,800 m (de Silva, 1980). The type locality given is "lîle S.-Eustache" (Sri Lanka).[1]
[edit] Behavior
This is not a particularly defensive species, but if agitated it will vibrate its tail tip and eventually strike.
[edit] Venom
The venom is primarily haemotoxic, with victims experiencing severe pain, swelling of the bitten area, oedema and localised tissue necrosis. However, fatalities have not been reported.
[edit] See also
- List of crotaline species and subspecies
- Trimeresurus by common name
- Trimeresurus by taxonomic synonyms
- Crotalinae by common name
- Crotalinae by taxonomic synonyms
- Snakebite
[edit] References
- ^ a b McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. Asian Pitvipers. GeitjeBooks Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
- ^ Trimeresurus trigonocephalus (TSN 634936). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 27 December 2007.
[edit] External links
- Trimeresurus trigonocephalus at the TIGR Reptile Database. Accessed 27 December 2007.