Tropidolaemus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Viperoidea

Familia: Viperidae
Subfamilia: Crotalinae
Genus: Tropidolaemus
Species: T. huttoni - T. wagleri
Name

Tropidolaemus Wagler, 1830
References

ICZN 2014: Opinion 2350 (Case 3566): Tropidolaemus Wagler, 1830 and Cophias wagleri F. Boie, 1827 (currently Tropidolaemus wagleri) (Reptilia, Squamata, VIPERIDAE): usage conserved. Bulletin of zoological nomenclature 71(4): 271–273. Abstract Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: Temple Vipers

Tropidolaemus is a genus of venomous pit vipers found in southern India and Southeast Asia.[1] Currently, 5 species are recognised and no subspecies.[2]

Description
Tropidolaemus subannulatus

Tropidolaemus are sexually dimorphic. Females can attain total lengths of up to 1 metre (39⅜ inches), but males are typically only around 75 cm (29+1⁄2 in). They have a distinctly broad, triangular-shaped head and a relatively thin body.

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 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.[1]
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 diurnal or nocturnal, with their activity period depending on the temperature.[3]
Feeding

The diet includes small mammals, birds, lizards and frogs.[3]
Reproduction

The average litter consists of between twelve and fifteen young, with the neonates measuring 12–15 cm (4¾-5⅞ inches) in total length.[3]
Species

Image	Species[2]	Common name[3]	Geographic range[1]
	T. huttoni (M.A. Smith, 1949)	Hutton's pit viper	The High Wavy Mountains in Madurai district, southern India.
	T. laticinctus (Kuch, Gumprecht, & Melaun, 2007)	Broad-banded temple pit viper	Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi.
	T. philippensis (Gray, 1842)	South Philippine temple pit viper	Philippines (western Mindanao)
	T. subannulatus (Gray, 1842)	Bornean keeled green pit viper	Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines
	T. wagleriT (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, Billiton, Nias, the Mentawai Islands (Siberut), Natuna, Karimata, Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan), Sulawesi and Buton.

T Type species.[1]
Taxonomy

Two species here were once classified as Trimeresurus, but were given their own genus due to distinct morphological characteristics.

One new species, T. laticinctus, was described recently by Kuch, Gumprecht and Melaun (2007). It is found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The type locality is "between L. Posso and Tomini Bay, Celebes" [= between Lake Poso and Tomini Bay, Province of Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia]."[4][5]
References

McDiarmid RW, 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).
"Tropidolaemus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 November 2006.
Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
Tropidolaemus laticinctus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 12 December 2007.
Kuch U, Gumprecht A & Melaun C. 2007. A new species of Temple Pitviper (Tropidolaemus Wagler, 1830) from Sulawesi, Indonesia (Squamata: Viperidae: Crotalinae). Zootaxa 1446: 1–20.