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  4. Pit Vipers
  5. Biological entry: Trimeresurus spp.

Animal: Trimeresurus spp., Bamboo pitvipers and others

Species

  1. Trimeresurus albolabris
  2. Trimeresurus andersonii
  3. Trimeresurus arunachalensis
  4. Trimeresurus ayeyarwadyensis
  5. Trimeresurus barati
  6. Trimeresurus buniana
  7. Trimeresurus calamitas
  8. Trimeresurus calamitas
  9. Trimeresurus cantori
  10. Trimeresurus cardamomensis
  11. Trimeresurus caudornatus
  12. Trimeresurus ciliaris
  13. Trimeresurus cryptographicus
  14. Trimeresurus cyanolabris
  15. Trimeresurus davidi
  16. Trimeresurus erythrochloris
  17. Trimeresurus erythrurus
  18. Trimeresurus fasciatus
  19. Trimeresurus flavomaculatus
  20. Trimeresurus fucatus
  21. Trimeresurus gracilis
  22. Trimeresurus gumprechti
  23. Trimeresurus gunaleni
  24. Trimeresurus guoi
  25. Trimeresurus hageni
  26. Trimeresurus honsonensis
  27. Trimeresurus insularis
  28. Trimeresurus kanburiensis
  29. Trimeresurus kirscheyi
  30. Trimeresurus kraensis
  31. Trimeresurus kuiburi
  32. Trimeresurus labialis
  33. Trimeresurus lanna
  34. Trimeresurus macrops
  35. Trimeresurus malcolmi
  36. Trimeresurus mayaae
  37. Trimeresurus mcgregori
  38. Trimeresurus medoensis
  39. Trimeresurus mutabilis
  40. Trimeresurus nebularis
  41. Trimeresurus phuketensis
  42. Trimeresurus popeiorum
  43. Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus
  44. Trimeresurus rubeus
  45. Trimeresurus sabahi
  46. Trimeresurus salazar
  47. Trimeresurus schultzei
  48. Trimeresurus septentrionalis
  49. Trimeresurus sichuanensis
  50. Trimeresurus stejnegeri
  51. Trimeresurus sumatranus
  52. Trimeresurus tenasserimensis
  53. Trimeresurus tibetanus
  54. Trimeresurus toba
  55. Trimeresurus truongsonensis
  56. Trimeresurus venustus
  57. Trimeresurus vogeli
  58. Trimeresurus whitteni
  59. Trimeresurus yingjiangensis
  60. Trimeresurus yunnanensis

The genus Trimeresurus has been subject to extensive taxonomical revision.

Three new genera were proposed and are accepted today (David and Ineich 1999, David and Vogel 2015, Gumprecht et al. 2004, Kuch et al. 2007, Vogel et al. 2007, Malik et al. 2021): 

Craspedocephalus

Ovophis

Protobothrops

Tropidolaemus 

Based on morphological and molecular findings Malhotra and Thorpe (2004) proposed in addition to Trimeresurus, the following new genera:

Cryptelytrops

Himalayophis

Parias

Peltopelor

Popeia

Viridovipera

According to Gumprecht et al. (2004) the genus Cryptelytrops still belongs to Trimeresurus. David et al. (2011) suggest: "The generic nomen Trimeresurus should be associated with the Trimeresurus albolabris group of species currently placed in the genus or subgenus Cryptelytrops". Furthermore they proposed to adapt the findings of Malhotra and Thorpe but to define the new genera as 'clades'/subgenera.

David et al. (2011) proposed to adapt the findings of Malhotra and Thorpe but to define the new genera as 'clades'/subgenera. In this way information on the phylogenetic relationship among the different 'clades' would be reflected: 'It should also be emphasized that, on an external morphological basis, these subgenera are hardly diagnosable, and we think that recognizing “genera” that cannot be diagnosed morphologically is not a help to practising taxonomists, especially when they do not have access to molecular facilities. A “purely cladistic” concept of the genus in zoology is neither sufficient nor useful, as it does not provide any yardstick of comparison between related genera.'

The following subgenera and species are distiguished:

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus)

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) albolabris

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) andersonii

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) arunachalensis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) cantori

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) cardamomensis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) caudornatus

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) davidi

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) erythrurus

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) fasciatus

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) gracilis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) honsonensis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) insularis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) kanburiensis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) labialis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) macrops

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) mutabilis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) purpureomaculatus

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) rubeus

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) salazar

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) septentrionalis

Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) venustus

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) (now rergarded as a valid genus (Malik et al. 2021)

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) anamallensis

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) andalasensis

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) borneensis

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) brongersmai

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) gramineus

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) macrolepis

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) malabaricus

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) occidentalis

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) peltopelor 

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) puniceus

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) strigatus

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) travancoricus

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) trigonocephalus

Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) wiroti

Trimeresurus (Himalayophis)

Trimeresurus (Himalayophis) arunachalensis

Trimeresurus (Himalayophis) tibetanus

Trimeresurus (Parias)

Trimeresurus (Parias) flavomaculatus

Trimeresurus (Parias) gunaleni

Trimeresurus (Parias) hageni

Trimeresurus (Parias) malcolmi

Trimeresurus (Parias) mcgregori

Trimeresurus (Parias) schultzei

Trimeresurus (Parias) sumatranus

Trimeresurus (Peltopelor)

Trimeresurus (Popeia)

Trimeresurus (Popeia) barati

Trimeresurus (Popeia) buniana

Trimeresurus (Popeia) fucatus

Trimeresurus (Popeia) nebularis

Trimeresurus (Popeia) phuketensis

Trimeresurus (Popeia) popeiorum

Trimeresurus (Popeia) sabahi

Trimeresurus (Popeia) toba

Trimeresurus (Popeia) yingjiangensis

Trimeresurus (Sinovipera).  Guo and Wang (2011) propose an own genus: Sinovipera (with the sole species Sinovipera sichuanensis).

Trimeresurus (Sinovipera) sichuanensis

Trimeresurus (Viridovipera)

Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) gumprechti

Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) medoensis

Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) stejnegeri

Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) truongsonensis

Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) vogeli

Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) yunnanensis

In addition, other genera wich have originally been described as Trimeresurus have been asigned to new genera:

Trimeresurus mangshanensis -> Zhaoermia mangshanensis (Gumprecht et al. 2004) -> now Protobothrops mangshanensis (Snetkov and Orlov, 2017)

Trimeresurus mangshanensis -> Garthius chaseni (Das and Yaakob 2007)

Trimeresurus sp.

Taxonomy

Serpentes; Viperidae; Crotalinae

Common names

  1. White-lipped pitviper
  2. Anderson's pitviper
  3. Arunachal pitviper
  4. Ayeyarwady pitviper
  5. Barat bamboo pitviper
  6. The fairy pitviper
  7. Cantor's pitviper
  8. Cardamom Mountains green pitviper
  9. Limestone eyelash pitviper
  10. Cryptic green pitviper
  11. Blue-lipped pitviper
  12. Red-barred green pitviper
  13. Red-tailed bamboo pitviper
  14. Banded pitviper
  15. Philippine pitviper
  16. Siamese peninsula pitviper
  17. Kikuchi Habu
  18. Gumprecht’s green pitviper
  19. Gunalen's pitviper
  20. Guo’s green pit viper
  21. Hagan's pitviper
  22. White-lipped island pitviper
  23. Kanburi pitviper
  24. Simeulue pitviper
  25. Kui Buri pitviper
  26. Nicobar bamboo pitviper
  27. Lanna green pitviper
  28. Large-eyed pitviper
  29. Malcolm's pitviper
  30. Maya's pitviper
  31. McGregor's pitviper, Batanes-Bambusotter
  32. Green bamboo leaf pitviper, Motuo bamboo pitviper
  33. Central Nicobar pitviper, Central Nicobar bamboo pitviper
  34. Cameron Highlands pitviper
  35. Phuket pitviper, Phuket Bambusotter
  36. Pope's tree viper, Pope's bamboo pitviper
  37. Shore pitviper
  38. Ruby-eyed green pitviper
  39. Sabah bamboo pitviper
  40. Schultze's pitviper
  41. Northern white-lipped pitviper
  42. Sichuan pitviper
  43. Chinese green tree viper, Stejneger’s bamboo pitviper
  44. Sumatran pitviper
  45. Tenasserim green pitviper
  46. Tibetan pitviper
  47. Toba pitviper
  48. Quang Binh pitviper
  49. Beautiful pitviper
  50. Vogel’s pitviper
  51. Siberut Pitviper
  52. Yingjiang green pit viper
  53. Yunnan bamboo pitviper

 Distribution

See link "Distribution" at the top of the page for detailed information.

Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, Southern China.

Biology

Descriptions of the genus Trimeresurus according to the old classification (including the new subgenera/generaHimalayophis, Ovophis, Parias, Popeia, Protobothrops, Sinovipera, Trimeresurus, Tropidolaemus and Viridovipera):

Mostly smaller snakes under 1 m. Colouring and pattern very variable. T. albolabris, T. erythrurus, T. macrops,  T. stejnegeri, Craspedocephalus gramineus and Craspedocephalus popeiorum are green, but without markings, or only faint ones. Taxonomic differentiation of these green species, some of which are amongst the most medically important species of their genus, is difficult. Morphological distinctions frequently only consist of minor differences in the head shields. 

Most species are arboreal, but ground-dwelling species do exist. The arboreal species are green (see above), sometimes with markings (e.g. T. cantori, Craspedocephalus trigonocephalus, Prothobothrops jerdoni or Tropidolaemus wagleri), and possess a fairly well-formed prehensile tail. Some arboreal species often live on the outskirts and in the green areas of larger cities.

The ground-dwellers are usually of a brown colour with dark markings. Among others, Protobothrops flavoviridis and Protobothrops mucrosquamatus belong to this group and are found in wooded or open regions, but also often in agricultural areas and inhabited regions. Other ground-dwellers are the smaller mountain species Ovophis monticola, Craspedocephalus malabaricus and Craspedocephalus strigatus.

Risk

Descriptions of the genus Trimeresurus according to the old classification (including the new genera Craspedocephalus, Ovophis, Protobothrops, Tropidolaemus:

Bites from most species generally only cause local effects. The following species, however, also cause more serious consequences: T. albolabris (rarely fatalities), T. erythrurus, T. popeiorum, T. purpureomaculatus, Protobothrops flavoviridis (few, but regular fatalities) and Protobothrops mucrosquamatus (known fatalities in Taiwan). Severe cases wich were attributed to T. popeiorum were most probably misidentifications of T. albolabris or T. macrops (see Warrell 1990a, Mitracul 1982)

There are several hundred bites each year due to Protobothrops flavoviridis on the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Of these, approx. 50% occur in people working in the fields and approx. 20% in living quarters. Around 25% of cases have a severe course, with local necroses or systemic envenoming, and on average 8 patients die each year (Sawai et al. 1970, 1971b).

In Taiwan, Protobothrops mucrosquamatus is held responsible for half of all venomous snakebites (Sawai 1969).

T. albolabris bites are common in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, around 50% of all venomous snakebites are believed to be due to this species (Sawai et al. 1971b).

Literature (biological)

Captain et al. 2019, Chandramouli et al. 2020, Chen et al. 2019, 2020 and 2023, David et al. 2009 and 2011, Grismer et al. 2006, Gumprecht et al. 2004, Guo and Wang 2011, Idiiatullina et al. 2023, 2024a, 2024b and 2024c, Malhotra and Thorpe 2004, Malhotra et al. 2011, Malik et al. 2021, Mirza et a. 2020 and 2023, Pawangkhanant et al. 2025a, Pawangkhanant et al. 2025b, Rathee et al. 2022, Sumontha et al. 2011, Vogel et al. 2004, 2014 and 2022

The Reptile Database

RepFocus