Trimeresurus sumatranus

{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Speciesbox | image = Trigonocephalus formosus.jpg | image_caption = Artist's rendition | image2 = | image2_caption = Juvenile male ''T. sumatranus'' | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Inger, R.F. |author2=Grismer, L. |author3=Chan-Ard, T. |date=2013 |title=''Trimeresurus sumatranus'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T178274A44273835 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T178274A44273835.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Trimeresurus | species = sumatranus | authority = ([[Stamford Raffles|Raffles]], 1822) | synonyms = *''C''[''oluber'']. ''Sumatranus'' Raffles, 1822 *''C''[''oluber'']. ''sumatranus'' – [[Heinrich Boie|H. Boie]], 1826 *''Trigonocephalus formosus'' [[Johannes Peter Müller|J.P. Müller]] & [[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]] ''In'' [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]], 1842 *''Trimeresurus Sumatranus'' – [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1842 *''Trigonocephalus formosus'' – J.P. Müller & Schlegel ''In'' Temminck, 1845 *''Trigonocephalus sumatranus'' – [[Theodore Edward Cantor|Cantor]], 1847 *''Trimeresurus formosus'' – Gray, 1849 *''B''[''othrops'']. ''formosus'' – [[Giorgio Jan|Jan]], 1863 *''Bothrops sumatranus'' – Lidth de Jeude, 1866 *''Lachesis sumatranus'' – [[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1896 *''Trimeresurus sumatranus'' – [[Malcolm Arthur Smith|M.A. Smith]], 1922 *''Trimeresurus sumatranus sumatranus'' – [[Arthur Loveridge|Loveridge]], 1938 *''Trimeresurus sumatranus sumatranus'' – Golay ''et al.'', 1993<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> *''Parias sumatranus'' – Malhotra & Thorpe, 2004 *''Trimeresurus (Parias) sumatranus'' – David ''et al.'', 2011<ref>{{NRDB species|genus=Trimeresurus |species=sumatranus }}</ref>}}

'''''Trimeresurus sumatranus''''' is a [[species]] of [[venomous snake|venomous]] [[Crotalinae|pitviper]] (a [[subfamily]] of vipers within the larger [[Viperidae]] family) found in the tropical forests of [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]] and [[Thailand]]. [[Arboreal]] by nature, its coloration is pale to neon-green, with some black vertical markings, and a red-tipped tail. As with other vipers, this species has prominent, "keeled" scales, which appear somewhat raised and give the snake a rough-textured appearance. [[Common name]]s include '''Sumatran pitviper''',<ref name=Gum04>Gumprecht A, Tillack F, [[Nikolai Liutsianovich Orlov|Orlov NL]], [[Ashok Captain|Captain A]], Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. {{ISBN|3-937975-00-4}}.</ref> '''Sumatran tree viper''',<ref name=Meh87>Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. {{ISBN|0-8069-6460-X}}.</ref> and '''Sumatran pit viper'''.<ref name=Bro73>Brown JH. 1973. ''Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes''. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. {{ISBN|0-398-02808-7}}.</ref> [[File:Sumatran Pit Viper (Trimeresurus sumatranus) (8741684078).jpg|alt=Photograph by Bernard Dupont|thumb|Sumatran pit viper (''Trimeresurus sumatranus'') Courtesy Thai National Parks Photograph by Bernard Dupont]]

==Description== ''Trimeresurus sumatranus'' is a large heavy-bodied pitviper, with a [[prehensile]] tail. Adults may attain {{convert|1.6|m|ftin|abbr=off}} SVL ([[snout–vent length]]), with fangs over {{cvt|10|mm|frac=8}} long.<ref name=Das2006>Das, Indraneil. 2006. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo''. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-061-1}}. (''Parias sumatranus'', p. 55.)</ref>

It is an arboreal species that is pale green in color with a red tail.<ref name=Meh87/> The dorsal scales are edged with black, which may form crossbands in more mature specimens. There is a white or yellow stripe on each side along the first row of dorsal scales. Ventrally it is greenish or yellowish, and the ventral scales may be thinly edged with black.<ref>[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger, G.A.]] 1896. ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the...Viperidæ.''. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I.- XXV. (''Lachesis sumatranus'', pp. 557-558.)</ref>

Scalation includes 21 (23) rows of [[dorsal scales]] at midbody, 183–190/182–191 [[ventral scales]] in males/females, 57–66/55–64 [[subcaudal scales]] in males/females, and 8–10 [[supralabial scales]].<ref name=Gum04/>

==Habitat== In [[Borneo]] it inhabits [[lowland]] [[forest]]s at elevations below {{convert|800|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}}.<ref name=Das2006/>

==Behavior== It is [[nocturnal]], climbing onto low branches to hunt its prey.<ref name=Das2006/>

==Diet== The diet consists mainly of arboreal small [[mammal]]s, [[bird]]s,<ref name=Meh87/> and [[tree frog]]s.<ref name=Das2006/>

==Geographic range== Found in southern [[Thailand]], [[Peninsular Malaysia|West]] and [[East Malaysia]] ([[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]] on [[Borneo]]) and [[Indonesia]] ([[Bangka Island|Bangka]], [[Belitung|Billiton]], Borneo, [[Sumatra]] and the nearby islands of Simalur, [[Nias]], and possibly the [[Mentawai Islands]] <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Sipura|Sipora]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>). The [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] given is "Sumatra."<ref name="McD99"/>

According to Gumprecht ''et al.'' (2004), the records regarding its occurrence in the Mentawai Islands are probably based on ''[[Trimeresurus hageni|T. hageni]]''.<ref name=Gum04/>

==Venom== Because it is a large snake with large fangs, ''Trimeresurus sumatranus'' can inject large quantities of [[venom]]. Fatalities from its bite have been reported, and it should be considered extremely dangerous.<ref name=Das2006/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *[[Stamford Raffles|Raffles, T.S.]] 1822. Second Part of the Descriptive Catalogue of a Zoological Collection made in [sic] the Island of Sumatra and its vicinity. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 13 (2): 277-340. (''Coluber sumatranus'', p. 334.)

[[Category:Trimeresurus|sumatranus]] [[Category:Snakes of Southeast Asia]] [[Category:Snakes of Indonesia]] [[Category:Snakes of Malaysia]] [[Category:Snakes of Singapore]] [[Category:Snakes of Thailand]] [[Category:Reptiles of Borneo]] [[Category:Fauna of Sumatra]] [[Category:Reptiles described in 1822]] [[Category:Taxa named by Thomas Stamford Raffles]]