Dhwanika Joshi at 18:00, 19 April 2026

2026-04-19T18:00:33Z

New page

{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{Refimprove|date=June 2018}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Trimeresurus_stejnegeri.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Jiang, J. |author2=Zhou, Z. |author3=Lau, M.W.N. |author4=Guo, P. |date=2012 |title=''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'' |volume=2012 |article-number=e.T192136A2045355 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T192136A2045355.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Trimeresurus
| species = stejnegeri
| authority = [[Karl Patterson Schmidt|Schmidt]], 1925
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true|title=List
|''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'' {{small|Schmidt, 1925}}
|''Trimeresurus gramineus stejnegeri'' {{small|— [[Leonhard Hess Stejneger|Stejneger]], 1927}}
|''Trimeresurus gramineus formosensis'' {{small|[[:fr:Moichirō Maki|Maki]], 1931}}
|''Trimeresurus gramineus kodairai'' {{small|Maki, 1931}}
|''Trimeresurus stejnegeri stejnegeri'' {{small|— [[Clifford H. Pope|Pope]], 1935}}
|''Trimeresurus stejnegeri makii'' {{small|[[:de:Konrad Klemmer|Klemmer]], 1963}}
|''Trimeresurus stejnegeri formosensis'' {{small|— [[Kenneth R. G. Welch|Welch]], 1988}}
|''Trimeresurus stejnegeri kodairai'' {{small|— Welch, 1988}}<ref name=McD99>[[:fr:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]], [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], [[T'Shaka Touré|Touré T]] (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>
|''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'' {{small|— [[Christian L. Cox|Cox]] et al., 1998}}
|''Viridovipera stejnegeri'' {{small|— [[Anita Malhotra|Malhotra]] & [[Roger Stephen Thorpe|Thorpe]], 2004}}
|''Trimeresurus (Viridovipera) stejnegeri'' {{small|— [[Patrick David|David]] et al., 2011}}
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=RDB/>
}}

'''''Trimeresurus stejnegeri''''' is a [[species]] of [[Venomous snake|venomous]] [[pit viper]] [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Asia]]. Two [[subspecies]] are currently recognized, including the [[Nominotypical subspecies|nominate subspecies]] described here.<ref name=RDB/>

[[Common name]]s for this pit viper include '''Stejneger's pit viper''', '''Chinese pit viper''', '''Chinese green tree viper''',<ref name=USN91>U.S. Navy (1991). ''Poisonous Snakes of the World''. New York: US Government / Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. {{ISBN|0-486-26629-X}}.</ref> '''bamboo viper''', '''Chinese bamboo pitviper''', '''69 bamboo viper''', and '''Chinese tree viper'''.<ref name="Meh87">[[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> For other common, non-scientific names, see {{section link|#Common names}} below.

==Etymology==
The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''stejnegeri'', is in honor of [[Leonhard Stejneger]], the [[Norway|Norwegian]]-born, [[United States|American]] [[Herpetology|herpetologist]] who worked at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] for over 60 years.<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 stejnegeri'', pp. 252-253).</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Chinese Green Tree Viper, 558台灣南投縣鹿谷鄉 imported from iNaturalist photo 340613960 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|225x225px|Eating a [[Zhangixalus moltrechti|Moltrecht's green tree frog]]]]
''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'' grows to a maximum total length of {{convert|75|cm}}, which includes a tail length of {{convert|14.5|cm}}. The males have [[hemipenes]] that are short and spinose beyond the bifurcation.<ref name="Lev03">[[Alan Edward Leviton|Leviton AE]], [[Guinevere O. U. Wogan|Wogan GOU]], Koo MS, [[:de:George Robert Zug|Zug GR]], Lucas RS, [[Jens V. Vindum|Vindum JV]] (2003). "The Dangerously Venomous Snakes of Myanmar, Illustrated Checklist with Keys". ''Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences'' '''54''' (24): 407-462.</ref>

The [[dorsal scales]] are arranged in 21 longitudinal rows at midbody. There are 9–11 [[upper labials]], of which the first are separated from [[nasal scales]] by a distinct suture. The [[supraocular]]s are single, narrow, and sometimes divided by a transverse suture. There are 11–16 scales in a line between the supraoculars. The [[ventrals]] number 150–174, and the [[subcaudals]] are 54–77. All of the subcaudals are paired.<ref name=Lev03/>

The color pattern is bright to dark green above, pale green to whitish below, the two separated by a bright bicolored orange or brown (below) and white (above) (males) or bicolored or white only (females) ventrolateral stripe, which occupies the whole of the outermost scale row and a portion of the second row.<ref name=Lev03/>

Bamboo vipers are carnivores: they eat small rodents, birds, frogs, and lizards.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

Yellow colored mutants have been reported.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Everington |first1=Keoni |title=Rare mutant yellow Taiwan bamboo pit viper spotted on trail |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4808668 |website=taiwannews.com.tw |date=13 February 2023 |publisher=Taiwan News |access-date=14 February 2023}}</ref>

==Common names==
Common names for ''T. stejnegeri'' include bamboo viper, Chinese tree viper,<ref name=Meh87/> bamboo snake, Chinese green tree viper, Chinese bamboo viper, Stejneger's pit viper, Stejneger's palm viper, red tail snake,<ref name=USN91/> Stejneger's bamboo pitviper,<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. Berlin. 368 pp. {{ISBN|3-937975-00-4}}.</ref>

==Geographic range==
''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'' is found in [[India]] ([[Western Ghats]] & [[Eastern Ghats]], [[Northeast India]]) and [[Nepal]] through [[Myanmar]] and [[Laos]] to much of southern [[China]] ([[Yunnan]], [[Sichuan]], [[Gansu]], [[Jiangxi]], [[Jiangsu]], [[Hunan]], [[Hubei]], [[Guizhou]], [[Guangxi]], [[Guangdong]], [[Hainan]], [[Fujian]], [[Anhui]], [[Zhejiang]]), [[Vietnam]], and [[Taiwan]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> The [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] was originally listed as "Shaowu, Fukien Province, China", and later amended to "N.W. Fukien Province" by [[Clifford H. Pope|Pope]] & [[Sarah Haydock Pope|Pope]] (1933) (Fukien being the former romanization of Fujian).<ref name=McD99/> this snake is often confused with '''''[[Trimeresurus]],''''' [[Ahaetulla oxyrhyncha]] in India.

==Habitat==
The preferred natural [[habitat]] of ''T. stejnegeri'' is [[forest]], at altitudes from sea level to {{convert|2,000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

==Venom==
''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'' has a potent [[hemotoxin]]. The wound usually feels extremely painful, as if it had been branded with a hot iron, and the pain does not subside until about 24 hours after being bitten. Within a few minutes of being bitten, the surrounding flesh dies and turns black, highlighting the puncture wounds. The wound site quickly swells, and the skin and muscle become black due to [[necrosis]]. The size of the necrotic area depends on the amount of venom injected and the depth of the bite.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

==Reproduction==
''T. stejnegeri'' is [[Viviparity|viviparous]].<ref name=RDB/>

==Subspecies==
{|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;"
! style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Subspecies<ref name=RDB/>
! style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Taxon author<ref name=RDB/>
! style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Common name<ref name=Gum04/>
! style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Geographic range<ref name=Gum04/>
|-
|''[[Trimeresurus stejnegeri chenbihuii|T. s. chenbihuii]]''
|[[Zhao Ermi|Zhao]], 1997
|Chen's pit viper
|style="width:40%"|[[China]], [[Hainan|Hainan Island]]: on Mount Diaoluo at 225–290 m elevation ([[Lingshui County]]) and on [[Wuzhi Mountain]] at 500 m elevation ([[Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County|Qiongzhong County]]).
|-
|''T. s. stejnegeri''
|[[Karl Patterson Schmidt|Schmidt]], 1925
|Stejneger's pit viper
|China (in eastern [[Sichuan]], [[Guizhou]], [[Hubei]], [[Anhui]], [[Jiangsu]], [[Zhejiang]], [[Jiangxi]], [[Hunan]], [[Fujian]], [[Gansu]], [[Guangdong]] and [[Guangxi]]), [[Taiwan]], and [[Vietnam]].
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species |genus=Trimeresurus |species=stejnegeri |accessdate=8 August 2020}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*Creer S, [[Anita Malhotra|Malhotra A]], [[Roger Stephen Thorpe|Thorpe RS]], [[Wen-Hao Chou|Chou WH]] (2001). "Multiple causation of phylogeographical pattern as revealed by nested clade analysis of the bamboo viper (''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'') within Taiwan". ''Molecular Ecology'' '''10''' (8): 1967-1981.
*[[:fr:Indraneil Das|Das I]] (2002). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-056-5}}. (''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'', p. 68).
*Malhotra A, Thorpe RS (2004). "Maximizing information in systematic revisions: a combined molecular and morphological analysis of a cryptic green Pit Viper complex (''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'')". ''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society'' '''82''' (2): 219.
*[[Christopher L. Parkinson|Parkinson CL]] (1999). "Molecular systematics and biogeographical history of Pit Vipers as determined by mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences". ''Copeia'' '''1999''' (3): 576–586.
*[[Peng Guo (herpetologist)|Guo P]], [[Fuji Zhang|Zhang F]] (2001). "Comparative studies on hemipenes of four species of ''Trimeresurus'' (''sensu stricto'') (Serpentes: Crotalinae)". ''Amphibia-Reptilia'' '''22''' (1): 113-117.
*[[Karl Patterson Schmidt|Schmidt KP]] (1925). "New Reptiles and a New Salamander from China". ''American Museum Novitates'' (157): 1-5. ("''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'', new species", p. 4).
*Tu M-C et al. (2000). "Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Biogeography of the Oriental Pit Vipers of the Genus ''Trimeresurus'' (Reptilia: Viperidae: Crotalinae): A Molecular Perspective". ''Zoological Science'' '''17''': 1147–1157.
{{refend}}

{{Trimeresurus}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2719425}}

[[Category:Trimeresurus|stejnegeri]]
[[Category:Snakes of Asia]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Cambodia]]
[[Category:Snakes of China]]
[[Category:Snakes of India]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Laos]]
[[Category:Snakes of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Snakes of Vietnam]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Karl Patterson Schmidt]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1925]]

Trimeresurus stejnegeri - Revision history

Dhwanika Joshi at 18:00, 19 April 2026