Trimeresurus hongheensis occurs in the lower reaches of the Honghe River Basin and adjacent areas close to Yunnan Province. and T. yunnanensis distributed in the west of the Honghe River.
Researchers have described a new species of pit viper of the genus Trimeresurus from the Yunnan Province in China. The new species is named Trimeresurus hongheensis sp. nov. or the Honghe green pit-viper in English and “Hóng hé Zhú Yè Qīng (红河竹叶青)” in Chinese. It is primarily arboreal, has a slender body and a prehensile tail which makes it ideal for life in the canopy. Specimens were collected in forest vegetation, perched above the ground.
The Honghe green pit viper has a dark green head and dorsum with a yellow or light green belly. The researchers say that 80 percent of the tail is a rusty red in coloration, fusing backward with dark red at the end of the tail. The iris in males is a brick red or sepia coloration in males and yellow/rusty red in females. There is a post ocular white stripe that borders above and below by red or white in males. Females lack this white stripe. The stripe starts at the pits and runs down the body in parallel with a red stripe.
Trimeresurus hongheensis sp. nov. in Yunnan, China, males (Left) and females (Right) in life
A: Mingjiu, Mengzi (Holotype GXNU251201). B: Mingjiu, Mengzi (GXNU251218). C: Yuanjiang (Paratype GXNU251204). D: Yuanjiang (Paratype GXNU251205). E: Mt. Dawei, Pingbian County, Yunnan (Paratype GXNU251219). F: Yuanjiang (Paratype GXNU251203). Photos by Li Ding.
Trimeresurus hongheensis sp. nov has a snout to vent length of 658mm in males and 722mm in females. It is known to occur near the Honghe River Basin in Yunnan Province, China. This includes the Honghe, Jinping, Pingbian, Yuanjiang counties, as well Mengzi City. The Ailao Mountain and Honghe River Basin separates Trimeresurus hongheensis sp. nov from T. yunnanensis, one of five close relatives. The other species include Trimeresurus albolabris, Trimeresurus gumprechti, Trimeresurus stejnegeri, and Trimeresurus medoensis. The genus Trimeresurus is part of the pit viper subfamily Crotalinae> There are more than 150 species worldwide.
Venomous Pit Viper Species of the Trimeresurus albolabris Complex Described
Trimeresurus hongheensis occurs in the lower reaches of the Honghe River Basin and adjacent areas close to Yunnan Province, and T. yunnanensis is distributed west of the Honghe River.
The study describing there new species ‘Integrative taxonomy identifies a new species of Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia: Serpentes: Viperidae) from Yunnan Province, China” can be read on the Zoological Research Diversity and Conservation website.
