{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Speciesbox | image = Trimeresurus popeiorum, Pope's pit viper - Doi Phu Kha National Park (46846412805).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Wogan, G. |author2=Chan-Ard, T. |year=2022 |amends=2012 |title=''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' |volume=2022 |article-number=e.T192243A217770326 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T192243A217770326.en |access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref> | genus = Trimeresurus | species = popeiorum | authority = [[Malcolm Arthur Smith|M.A. Smith]], 1937 | synonyms = *''Trimesurus elegans'' (part) <br />{{small|— [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1853}} *''Trimeresurus gramineus'' (part) <br />{{small|— [[Clifford H. Pope|C. Pope]] & [[Sarah H. Pope|S. Pope]], 1933}} *''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' [sic]<br />{{small|M.A. Smith, 1937}} *''Trimeresurus popeorum'' [sic]<br />{{small|M.A. Smith, 1943}} *''Trimeresurus popeorum'' <br />{{small|— [[Edward Harrison Taylor|Taylor]] & [[Robert E. Elbel|Elbel]], 1958}} *''Trimeresurus popeorum popeorum'' <br />{{small|— [[Urs Regenass|Regenass]] & [[Eugen Kramer|Kramer]], 1981}} *''Trimeresurus popeorum popeorum'' <br />{{small|— [[Philippe Golay|Golay]] et al., 1993}}<ref name="McD99">[[:fr:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]], [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], [[T'Shaka A. Touré|Touré TA]] (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).{{pn|date=June 2022}}</ref> *''Popeia popeiorum'' <br />{{small|— [[Anita Malhotra|Malhotra]] & [[Roger Stephen Thorpe|Thorpe]], 2004}} *''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' <br />{{small|— [[Patrick David|David]] et al., 2009}} *''Trimeresurus (Popeia) popeiorum'' <br />{{small|— David et al., 2011}} }} '''''Trimeresurus popeiorum''''' is a [[species]] of [[venomous snake|venomous]] [[Crotalinae|pit viper]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Viperidae]]. The species is native to northern and northeastern parts of [[India]] and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=RDB/> [[Common name]]s include: '''Pope's pit viper''', '''Pope's green pit viper''', '''Pope's tree viper''' and '''Pope's bamboo pitviper'''.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=RDB/><ref name="Gum04">[[Andreas Gumprecht|Gumprecht A]], [[Frank Tillack|Tillack F]], [[Nikolai Liutsianovich Orlov|Orlov NL]], [[Ashok Captain|Captain A]], [[Sergei A. Ryabov|Ryabov S]] (2004). ''Asian Pitvipers''. First Edition. Berlin: Geitje Books. 368 pp. {{ISBN|3-937975-00-4}}.{{pn|date=June 2022}}</ref> [[File:Pope's Pit Viper.jpg|thumbnail|Female]][[File:Trimeresurus-popeorum-Pope%27s-pit-viper-(male-juvenile)-Kaeng-Krachan-National-Park.jpg|thumbnail|Juvenile male]]
==Description== ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' may grow to a total length of {{convert|770|mm|in|abbr=on}}, which includes a tail length {{convert|170|mm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Lev03">{{cite journal |last1=Leviton |first1=Alan E. |last2=Wogan |first2=G. |last3=Koo |first3=M. |last4=Zug |first4=George R. |last5=Lucas |first5=R. |last6=Vindum |first6=J. |title=The dangerously venomous snakes of Myanmar. Illustrated key and checklist |journal=Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences |volume=54 |issue=24 |date=2003 |pages=407–462 |hdl=10088/4542 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
Above green, below pale green to whitish, the two separated by a bright bicolored orange or brown (below) and white (above) (males) or white (females) ventrolateral stripe, which occupies the whole of the outermost scale row and a portion of the second row.<ref name="Lev03"/>
[[Dorsal scales]] in 21 (rarely 23) longitudinal rows at midbody; 9–11 [[upper labials]], first upper labials separated from [[Nasal scales|nasals]] by a distinct suture; a single [[supraocular]]. [[Ventrals]] 155–169; [[subcaudals]] 52–76, in males the base of the tail enlarged to the level of subcaudals 20–25; [[Hemipenis|hemipenes]] long and slender, smooth, without spines.<ref name="Lev03"/>
This species is most often confused with ''[[Trimeresurus stejnegeri|T. s. stejnegeri]]'' (q.v.); the two have quite distinct hemipenes, which does not make identification of individuals in the field or in the laboratory any easier without recourse to (a) male individuals and (b) an examination of the hemipenes. However, the two species are not known to have overlapping distributions, at least based on available materials. Also, closely allied to ''T. popeiorum'' is ''[[Trimeresurus yunnanensis]]'' (q.v.); ordinarily, the two are more easily told apart by the number of midbody [[dorsal scale]] rows, 21 in ''T. popeiorum'', 19 in ''T. yunnanensis''.<ref name="Lev03"/> [[File:Trimeresurus popeorum adult male.jpg|alt=Trimeresurus popeorum|thumb|Adult male Pope's pit viper, ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'']] <gallery> File:Trimeresurus popeorum adult male.jpg|Adult male ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' </gallery>
==Geographic range== ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' is found in [[Northeastern India]] (Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Darjiling), northern [[Myanmar]], [[Thailand]], and [[Laos]]. It probably also occurs in [[Nepal]] and [[Yunnan]] (China), but there are no reliable records from those areas.<ref name=IUCN/>
The [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]], designated by [[lectotype]], is listed as "[[Khasi Hills]], [[Assam]]" (India).<ref name="McD99"/>
==Taxonomy and etymology== The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''popeiorum'' (Latin, genitive, plural), is in honor of two American herpetologists, [[Clifford H. Pope]] and Sarah H. Pope, his wife.<ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Trimeresurus popeiorum'', p. 209).</ref>
There are differences in opinion as to the correct spelling of the [[Specific name (zoology)|specific epithet]]. The following is from David and Vogel (1996):<ref name=RDB/><ref name="D&V96">[[Patrick David|David P]], [[Gernot Vogel|Vogel G]] (1996). ''The Snakes of Sumatra: An annotated checklist and key with natural history notes''. Frankfurt am Main: Edition Chimaira. 259 pp. {{ISBN|3-930612-08-9}}.{{pn|date=June 2022}}</ref> <blockquote> This species was named in honour to [[Clifford H. Pope]] and Sarah H. Pope. The original spelling of the specific epithet, ''popeiorum'', was corrected into ''popeorum'' by [[Malcolm Arthur Smith|Smith]] (1943:518) on the basis that it was indeed a clerical error. Unfortunately, according to the Art. 32 (c, ii) of the Code ([[International Code of Zoological Nomenclature|ICZN]], 1985), such a change does not fall into the category of a "correction of an incorrect original spelling." According to the Art. 33 (d), the use of a termination -orum in a subsequent spelling of a species-group name that is a genitive based upon a personal name in which the correct original spelling terminates with -iorum, is an incorrect subsequent spelling, even if the change is deliberate. The original spelling, ''popeiorum'', must therefore be conserved. </blockquote>
==Habitat== ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' is found in [[forest]]s of mountainous regions.<ref name="Das2002"/>
==Behavior== ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' is [[nocturnal]] and [[arboreal]]. If threatened, it will vibrate its tail.<ref name="Das2002">{{cite journal |last1=Tan |first1=Choo |last2=Tan |first2=Kae |last3=Ng |first3=Tzu |last4=Quah |first4=Evan |last5=Ismail |first5=Ahmad |last6=Khomvilai |first6=Sumana |last7=Sitprija |first7=Visith |last8=Tan |first8=Nget |title=Venomics of ''Trimeresurus (Popeia) nebularis'', the Cameron Highlands Pit Viper from Malaysia: Insights into Venom Proteome, Toxicity and Neutralization of Antivenom |journal=Toxins |date=6 February 2019 |volume=11 |issue=2 |page=95 |doi=10.3390/toxins11020095 |pmid=30736335 |pmc=6410072 |doi-access=free |oclc=8080820858 }}</ref>
==Diet== ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' [[Predation|preys]] upon [[frog]]s, [[lizard]]s, [[bird]]s, and [[rodent]]s (especially [[rat]]s and [[squirrel]]s).<ref name="Das2002"/>
==Reproduction== This species, ''T. popeiorum'', is [[viviparous]]. In India, sexually mature females give birth in April and May, and the average clutch size is 10. The hatchlings are about {{convert|180|mm|in|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="Das2002"/>
==Venom== ''Trimeresurus popeiorum'' possesses a potent [[Hemotoxin|hemotoxic]] [[venom]] which is dangerous to humans.<ref name="Das2002"/>
==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species |genus=Trimeresurus |species=popeiorum |access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref> }}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * {{cite journal |last1=Gumprecht |first1=A |title=Die Bambusottern der Gattung ''Trimeresurus'' Lacépède. Teil IV: Checkliste der Trimeresurus-Arten Thailands |journal=Sauria |volume=23 |issue=2 |year=2001 |pages=25–32 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Malcolm A |title=The names of two Indian vipers |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=39 |issue=4 |year=1937 |pages=730–731 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47591225 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Tu |first1=Ming-Chung |last2=Wang |first2=Hurng-Yi |last3=Tsai |first3=Mung-Pei |last4=Toda |first4=Mamoru |last5=Lee |first5=Wen-Jen |last6=Zhang |first6=Fu-Ji |last7=Ota |first7=Hidetoshi |title=Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of the Oriental Pitvipers of the Genus ''Trimeresurus'' (Reptilia: Viperidae: Crotalinae): A Molecular Perspective |journal=Zoological Science |date=November 2000 |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=1147–1157 |doi=10.2108/zsj.17.1147 |pmid=18522471 |s2cid=207286072 |oclc=264530970 |hdl=2433/108613 |hdl-access=free }} {{refend}}
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[[Category:Trimeresurus|popeorum]] [[Category:Snakes of Asia]] [[Category:Snakes of India]] [[Category:Snakes of Myanmar]] [[Category:Reptiles of Laos]] [[Category:Snakes of Thailand]] [[Category:Reptiles described in 1937]] [[Category:Taxa named by Malcolm Arthur Smith]]