{{Short description|Genus of snakes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = WagPV.JPG | image_caption = Wagler's viper, ''[[Tropidolaemus wagleri|T. wagleri]]'' | taxon = Tropidolaemus | authority = [[Johann Georg Wagler|Wagler]], 1830<ref name="McD99">[[species:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]], [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], [[species: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).</ref> |type_species =''[[Tropidolaemus wagleri]]'' }}

'''''Tropidolaemus''''', the '''temple pit vipers''', is a [[genus]] of [[pit viper]]s in the [[subfamily]] [[Crotalinae]] of the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Viperidae]]. Member [[species]] are native to southern [[India]] and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="McD99"/> Five [[species]] are recognised as being valid, and none of these species has [[subspecies]].<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=634417 |taxon=''Tropidolaemus ''|accessdate=3 November 2006}}</ref>

== Description == [[File:Tropidolaemus subannulatus.JPG|thumbnail|left|''Tropidolaemus subannulatus'']] ''Tropidolaemus'' are [[sexually dimorphic]]. Females grow much larger than males. Females can reach about 1 meter long, or over 39 inches. Males usually only grow to about 75 cm, or around 29 and a half inches. These snakes have a unique head shape. Their heads are broad and shaped like triangles. Their bodies are relatively thin compared to their head. This makes them easy to spot.

They are found in a wide variety of colours and patterns, which are often referred to as "phases". Some sources even classify the different phases as subspecies. Phases vary greatly from having a [[black]] or [[brown]] colouration as a base, with [[orange (colour)|orange]] and [[yellow]] banding, to others having a light [[green]] as the base colour, with yellow or orange banding, and many variations therein.

==Geographic range== ''Tropidolaemus'' is native to southern [[India]] and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="McD99"/>

==Behaviour== These species are primarily [[arboreal]], and are excellent climbers. They spend most of their time nearly motionless, in wait for prey to pass by. They may be [[diurnality|diurnal]] or [[nocturnal]], with their activity period depending on the temperature.<ref name="Meh87">[[species:John M. Mehrtens|Mehrtens JM]] (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. {{ISBN|0-8069-6460-X}}.</ref>

==Feeding== The diet includes small [[mammal]]s, [[bird]]s, [[lizard]]s and [[frog]]s.<ref name="Meh87"/>

==Reproduction== The average litter consists of between twelve and fifteen young, with the neonates measuring 12–15&nbsp;cm ({{frac|4|3|4}}-{{frac|5|7|8}} inches) in total length.<ref name="Meh87"/>

==Species== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Image !! Species<ref name="ITIS"/>!! Common name<ref name="Meh87"/> !! Geographic range<ref name="McD99"/> |- | |''[[Tropidolaemus huttoni|T. huttoni]]'' <br>{{small|([[Malcolm Arthur Smith|M.A. Smith]], 1949)}} |Hutton's pit viper |style="width:55%"|The High Wavy Mountains in [[Madurai]] district, southern [[India]]. |- |[[File:Tropidolaemus laticinctus juvenile.jpg|120px]] |''[[Tropidolaemus laticinctus|T. laticinctus]]'' {{small|([[species:Ulrich Kuch|Kuch]], [[species:Andreas Gumprecht|Gumprecht]] & [[species:Christian Melaun|Melaun]], 2007)}} |Broad-banded temple pit viper |[[Indonesia]] on the island of [[Sulawesi]]. |- |[[File:Tropidolaemus philippinensis.jpg|120px]] |''[[Tropidolaemus philippensis|T. philippensis]]'' {{small|([[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1842)}} |South Philippine temple pit viper |[[Philippines]] (western Mindanao) |- |[[File:Bornean Keeled Green Pit Viper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus) (6635835447).jpg|120px]] |''[[Tropidolaemus subannulatus|T. subannulatus]]'' {{small|(Gray, 1842)}} |Bornean keeled green pit viper |[[Brunei]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], and the [[Philippines]] |- |[[File:Tropidolaemus wagleri, Wagler's palm pit viper - Takua Pa District, Phang-nga Province (48238132136).jpg|120px]] |''[[Tropidolaemus wagleri|T. wagleri]]''<span style="font-size:100%;"><sup>T</sup></span> {{small|([[Friedrich Boie|F. Boie]], 1827)}} |Wagler's pit viper |Southern [[Thailand]] and [[West Malaysia]]. In [[Indonesia]] on [[Sumatra]] and the nearby islands of the [[Riau Archipelago]], [[Bangka Island|Bangka]], [[Billiton]], [[Nias]], the [[Mentawai Islands]] ([[Siberut]]), [[Natuna]], Karimata, [[Borneo]] ([[Sabah]], [[Sarawak]], [[Kalimantan]]), [[Sulawesi]] and [[Buton]]. |- |} <span style="font-size:100%;"><sup>T</sup></span> [[Type species]].<ref name="McD99"/>

''[[Nota bene]]'': A [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Tropidolaemus''.

==Taxonomy== Two [[species]] here were once classified as ''[[Trimeresurus]]'', but were given their own genus due to distinct [[comparative anatomy|morphological]] characteristics.

One new species, ''T. laticinctus'', was described recently by Kuch, Gumprecht and Melaun (2007). It is found on the [[Indonesia]]n island of [[Sulawesi]]. The [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] is "between L. Posso and Tomini Bay, [[Sulawesi|Celebes]]" [= between Lake Poso and Tomini Bay, Province of Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia]."<ref name="NRDB-L">{{NRDB species|genus=Tropidolaemus|species=laticinctus|date=12 December|year=2007}}</ref><ref name="KGM07">[[species:Ulrich Kuch|Kuch U]], [[species:Andeas Gumprecht|Gumprecht A]], [[species:Christian Melaun|Melaun C]] (2007). "A new species of Temple Pitviper (''Tropidolaemus'' Wagler, 1830) from Sulawesi, Indonesia (Squamata: Viperidae: Crotalinae)". ''Zootaxa'' '''1446''': 1–20. (''Trimeresurus laticinctus'', new species).</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons|Tropidolaemus}} * {{NRDB genus|genus=Tropidolaemus|date=12 December|year=2007}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q619429}}

[[Category:Pit vipers]] [[Category:Snake genera]] [[Category:Taxa named by Johann Georg Wagler]]