Trimeresurus
Trimeresurus is a genus of venomous pit vipers found in Asia from the Indian Subcontinent throughout Southeast Asia, China and the Pacific Islands. Currently at least 32 species are recognized. Common names include Asian palm pit vipers, Asian lanceheads and Asian lance-headed vipers.''
Description
Most species in the genus Trimeresurus are relatively small, primarily arboreal species, with thin bodies and prehensile tails. However, Trimeresurus flavoviridis can reach a total length of 242 cm, and is one of the longest pit vipers in East Asia. Most Trimeresurus species are typically green in color, but some species also have yellow, black, orange, red, or gold markings.Feeding
The diet of Trimeresurus species includes a variety of animals, including lizards, amphibians, birds, rodents, and other small mammals.Reproduction
Like most viper species, many of the species in the genus Trimeresurus are ovoviviparous, bearing live young. However, some species such as T. flavoviridis, T. kaulbacki, and T. macrolepis are oviparous, laying eggs. Also, the reproductive biology of some Trimeresurus species is as yet unknown.Venom
Trimeresurus venom varies in toxicity between species, but all are primarily hemotoxic and considered to be medically significant to humans.Geographic range
Species in the genus Trimeresurus are found in Southeast Asia from India including regions of North Chotanagpur of Jharkhand to southern China and Japan, and the Malay Archipelago to Timor.Species
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.T) Type species.
Taxonomy
Additional species that may be recognized by other sources include:- T. barati Regenass & Kramer, 1981. Commonly called Barat's bamboo viper, found in Indonesia.
- T. fucatus Vogel, David & Pauwels, 2004. Commonly called the Siamese peninsula pit viper and found in southern Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia.
In addition, Malhotra and Thorpe proposed a radical shake up of the entire genus, splitting Trimeresurus into seven genera. Their proposed arrangement is shown in the table below:
| Genus | Species included |
| Trimeresurus | andalasensis, borneensis, brongersmai, gramineus, malabaricus, puniceus, salazar, strigatus, trigonocephalus, wiroti |
| Cryptelytrops | albolabris, andersonii, cantori, erythrurus, fasciatus, honsonensis, insularis, kanburiensis, labialis, macrops, purpureomaculatus, rubeus, septentrionalis, venustus |
| Himalayophis | tibetanus |
| Parias | flavomaculatus, hageni, malcolmi, mcgregori, schultzei, sumatranus |
| Peltopelor | macrolepis |
| Popeia | barati, buniana, fucata, nebularis, popeiorum, sabahi |
| Viridovipera | gumprechti, medoensis, stejnegeri, truongsonensis, vogeli, yunnanensis |
This new arrangement has been followed by many, but not all subsequent authors.
David et al. considered some of the genera of Malhotra & Thorpe to be subgenera of the genus Trimeresurus, creating new combinations such as "Trimeresurus flavomaculatus", "Trimeresurus popeiorum", "Trimeresurus stejnegeri", etc.