Tropidolaemus wagleri
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| Species: | T. wagleri
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Common names: Wagler's viper, temple viper.
Tropidolaemus wagleri is a venomous pit viper species native to southeast Asia. No subspecies are currently recognized.[2] They are sometimes referred to as the temple vipers because of their abundance around the Temple of the Azure Cloud in Malaysia.
Description
This species is sexually dimorphic: the females grow to approximately 1 m in length, while males typically do not exceed 75 cm. They have a large triangular shaped head, with a relatively thin body. Almost entirely arboreal, the tail is prehensile to aid in climbing.
They are found in a wide variety of colors and patterns, often referred to as "phases". In the past, some researchers classified the different phases as subspecies. The phases vary greatly from having a black or brown coloration as a base, with orange and yellow banding to others having a light green as the base color, with yellow or orange banding, and many variations therein.
Geographic range
Found in southern Thailand west Malaysia, in Indonesia on Sumatra, the islands of the Riau Archipelago, Bangka, Billiton, Nias, the Mentawai Islands (Siberut), Natuna, Karimata, Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan), Sulawesi and Buton, and in the Philippines on the islands of Balabac, Basilan, Bohol, Dinagat, Jolo, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Negros, Palawan, Samar and Tumindao. A type locality is not included in the original description, although Schlegel (1837) given "Sumatra".[1]
Behavior
Typically docile, this is a typical lie-in-wait predator, remaining motionless for long periods of time waiting for prey to pass by. When prey does pass by, or if disturbed, they can strike quickly.
Reproduction
Feeding
Their primary diet consists of rodents, birds, and lizards.
Venom
Their venom is a strong hemotoxin, and is considered medically significant to humans.
Taxonomy
This species has undergone much taxonomic reclassification over the years and was previously placed in the genus Trimeresurus. However, their distinctly different morphology and venom characteristics set them apart, so that eventually a new genus was erected in which they were placed together with Hutton's viper, Tropidolaemus huttoni.
External links
- Species Tropidolaemus wagleri at The Reptile Database
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- A possibly gravid Tropidolaemus wagleri on YouTube. Accessed 2 February 2007.
- Video of several species, including Tropidolaemus wagleri. on YouTube. Accessed 1 March 2007.
- ^ a b McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ "Tropidolaemus wagleri". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 25 May.
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