Tropidolaemus wagleri
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Tropidolaemus wagleri is a venomous pitviper species native to southeast Asia. No subspecies are currently recognized.[3] They are sometimes referred to as the temple vipers because of their abundance around the Temple of the Azure Cloud in Malaysia.
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[edit] Description
This species is sexually dimorphic: the females grow to approximately 1 m in length, while males typically do not exceed 75 cm. They have a large triangular shaped head, with a relatively thin body. Almost entirely arboreal, the tail is prehensile to aid in climbing.
They are found in a wide variety of colors and patterns, often referred to as "phases". In the past, some researchers classified the different phases as subspecies. The phases vary greatly from having a black or brown coloration as a base, with orange and yellow banding to others having a light green as the base color, with yellow or orange banding, and many variations therein.
[edit] Common names
Wagler's pit viper, temple viper, temple pit viper,[2] bamboo snake, temple snake, speckled pit viper,[4] temple pitviper.[5]
[edit] Geographic range
Found in southern Thailand west Malaysia, in Indonesia on Sumatra, the islands of the Riau Archipelago, Bangka, Billiton, Nias, the Mentawai Islands (Siberut), Natuna, Karimata, Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan), Sulawesi and Buton, and in the Philippines on the islands of Balabac, Basilan, Bohol, Dinagat, Jolo, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Negros, Palawan, Samar and Tumindao. A type locality is not included in the original description, although Schlegel (1837) given "Sumatra".[1]
[edit] Behavior
Typically docile, this is a typical lie-in-wait predator, remaining motionless for long periods of time waiting for prey to pass by. When prey does pass by, or if disturbed, they can strike quickly.
[edit] Feeding
Their primary diet consists of rodents, birds, and lizards.
[edit] Venom
Their venom is a strong hemotoxin, and is considered medically significant to humans.
[edit] Taxonomy
This species has undergone much taxonomic reclassification over the years and was previously placed in the genus Trimeresurus. However, their distinctly different morphology and venom characteristics set them apart, so that eventually a new genus was erected in which they were placed together with Hutton's viper, Tropidolaemus huttoni.
[edit] See also
- List of crotaline species and subspecies
- 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).
- ^ a b Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
- ^ Tropidolaemus wagleri (TSN 634939). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 25 May 2007.
- ^ U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
- ^ Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. Asian Pitvipers. GeitjeBooks Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
[edit] External links
- Tropidolaemus wagleri at the TIGR Reptile Database. Accessed 12 December 2007.
- A possibly gravid Tropidolaemus wagleri at YouTube. Accessed 2 February 2007.
- Video of several species, including Tropidolaemus wagleri. at YouTube. Accessed 1 March 2007.
