| Trimeresurus malabaricus | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Viperidae |
| Subfamily: | Crotalinae |
| Genus: | Trimeresurus |
| Species: | T. malabaricus |
| Binomial name | |
| Trimeresurus malabaricus (Jerdon, 1854) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Trimeresurus malabaricus is a venomous pitviper species found in southwestern India. No subspecies are currently recognized.[4]
Contents |
Dorsal scale rows number 21 or 19 at mid body, weakly keeled. Ventral scales in the males number 143-158 and females 136-159. Anal scale entire. Subcaudals paired and numbering 50-63 in males, 44-54 in females. Internasals large and usually touching. There are 9 or 10 supralabials, the first completely separated from the nasal. There is a single row of scales between supralabials and elongate subocular. The temporal scales are smooth or obliquely keeled.[5]
Found in southern and western India at 600-2,000 m elevation. The type locality given is "all the forests of the West Coast ... S. India" (the Western Ghats of southwestern India.[1]
They are nocturnal and usually inactive in the day, sometimes seen basking on rocks or trees near streams.
Slow but capable of fast strikes. Venom causes moderate pain and swelling to humans and subsides in a day or two.[5]