Trimeresurus gracilis

{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Speciesbox | image = Trimeresurus gracilis.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{Cite iucn | author = Jiang, J. | author2 = Lau, M. | name-list-style = amp | title = ''Trimeresurus gracilis'' | article-number = e.T191909A2014204 | date = 2012 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T191909A2014204.en |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> | genus = Trimeresurus | species = gracilis | authority = [[Masamitsu Ōshima|Ōshima]], 1920<ref name=McD99>McDiarmid RW, [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], Touré T. 1999. ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).</ref> }}

'''''Trimeresurus gracilis''''', [[common name|commonly known]] as the '''Taiwan pit viper''' or '''Taiwan mountain pitviper''', is a [[venomous snake|venomous]] [[pit viper]] [[species]] [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Taiwan]].<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=RDB/><ref name="Snakes of Taiwan"/> No [[subspecies]] are currently recognized.<ref name=RDB/><ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=634914 |taxon=''Trimeresurus gracilis'' |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> The species is known as {{lang|ja|kikushi habu}} in [[Japanese language|Japanese]].<ref name="Gum04">Gumprecht A, Tillack F, [[Nikolai Liutsianovich Orlov|Orlov NL]], [[Ashok Captain|Captain A]], Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. GeitjeBooks. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. {{ISBN|3-937975-00-4}}.</ref>

==Description== ''Trimeresurus gracilis'' is a small snake with a total length up to {{convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Snakes of Taiwan">{{cite web |author=Hans Breuer |author2=William Christopher Murphy |name-list-style=amp |date=2009–2010|url= https://www.snakesoftaiwan.com/trimeresurus-gracilis.html |title=''Trimeresurus gracilis'' Taiwan Mountain Pitviper |work=Snakes of Taiwan |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> Scalation includes 19 (or 21) rows of [[dorsal scales]] at midbody, 144–149 [[ventral scales]], 43–53 [[subcaudal scales]], and 7–8 [[supralabial scales]].<ref name=Gum04/>

==Geographic range== It is found only in [[Taiwan]], above {{convert|2,000|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name="Snakes of Taiwan"/> The [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] given is "Mt. Noko, Nanto". According to [[Zhao Ermi|Zhao]] and Adler (1993), this would be "Mt. Nôkô, Nanto Co., central Formosa" (Mount Nengkaoshan, [[Nantou County]], Taiwan).<ref name=McD99/> In a study were results that negated a commonly believed inference relating to the close affinity of T. monticola and T. okinawensis, and also suggested a sister relationship between T. okinawensis and T. gracilis. Phylogenetic relationships revealed in this study suggested that the genus Trimeresurus dispersed into the Ryukyu region at least three times, and that T. flavoviridis and T. tularensis from the central Ryukyus used to be more widespread and diverse in the past in surrounding regions.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Ming-Chung Tu |author2=Hurng-Yi Wang |author3=Mung-Pei Tsai |author4=Mamoru Toda |author5=Wen-Jen Lee |author6=Fu-Ji Zhang |author7=Hidetoshi Ota |title="Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of the Oriental Pitvipers of the Genus Trimeresurus (Reptilia: Viperidae: Crotalinae): A Molecular Perspective" |journal=Zoological Science |date= 1 November 2000 |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=1147–1157 |doi=10.2108/zsj.17.1147|pmid=18522471 |s2cid=207286072 |hdl=2433/108613 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species |genus=Trimeresurus |species=gracilis |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> }}

==Further reading== * [[Masamitsu Ōshima|Ōshima, M.]] 1920. Notes on the Venomous Snakes from the Islands of Formosa and Riu Kiu. Annual Report of the Institute of Science, Government of Formosa. '''8''' (2): 1-99. (''"Trimeresurus gracilis sp. nov."'', pp. 10–11 + Plate XII, Figures 5 & 6.) * [[Zhao Ermi|Zhao, Er-mi]], and Kraig Adler. 1993. ''Herpetology of China''. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR). Oxford, Ohio. 522 pp. {{ISBN|978-0916984281}}.

[[Category:Trimeresurus|gracilis]] [[Category:Snakes of Asia]] [[Category:Reptiles of Taiwan]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of Taiwan]] [[Category:Reptiles described in 1920]] [[Category:Taxa named by Masamitsu Ōshima]]