Trimeresurus cantori

Trimeresurus cantori, commonly known as the Cantor's pit viper[3] (or Cantor's pitviper),[4] is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Nicobar Islands of India.[5] It was named after Theodore Edward Cantor (1809-1860), a Danish naturalist serving as a surgeon with the East India Company in Calcutta.[6] No subspecies are currently recognized.[5]

Trimeresurus cantori
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Trimeresurus
Species:
T. cantori
Binomial name
Trimeresurus cantori
(Blyth, 1846)
Synonyms
  • Trigonocephalus Cantori
    Blyth, 1846
  • Trimesurus viridis var. Cantori
    — Blyth, 1861
  • Trim[eresurus]. Cantori
    — Stoliczka, 1870
  • Trimeresurus Cantoris
    Stoliczka, 1870
  • Lachesis cantoris
    — Boulenger, 1896
  • Trimeresurus cantori
    — M.A. Smith, 1943[1]
  • Cryptelytrops cantori
    — Malhotra & Thorpe, 2004
  • Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) cantori
    — David et al., 2011[2]

Geographic range

Trimeresurus cantori is found in the Nicobar Islands (which are in the Bay of Bengal), India, and possibly in the Andaman Islands. The type locality given is "Nicobars".[1]

Description

Adults of T. cantori may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of 115 cm (45 in).[7] Boulenger reported that an adult female with a total length of 102 cm (40 in) had a tail 14 cm (5.5 in) long.[8]

This species varies in pattern and color. Dorsally, it may be green, dark brown, or light brown. Green individuals may have yellow spots, and brown specimens may have darker spots. Running along each side of the head, below the eye and above the upper lip, is a cream-colored stripe. There is also a cream-colored stripe on the first row of dorsal scales on each side of the body. Ventrally, it is greenish or cream-colored, with some brown spots on the underside of the tail.[7]

The weakly keeled dorsal scales are arranged in 27 to 31 rows at midbody. The ventrals number 174-184. The anal plate is entire, and the subcaudals, which are divided, number 55-76.[8]

Behavior

Trimeresurus cantori is nocturnal and will hunt near houses.[7]

Diet

Trimeresurus cantori preys upon small mammals and birds.[7]

Venom

The species T. cantori possesses a potent venom, and some of its bites to humans have resulted in fatalities.[7]

References
  1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, 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).
  2. "Trimeresurus cantori ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Brown JH (1973). Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
  4. Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. First Edition. Berlin: GeitjeBooks. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
  5. "Trimeresurus cantori ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
  6. 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 cantori, p. 47).
  7. 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 cantori, p. 65).
  8. Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Lachesis cantoris, p. 551).

Further reading
  • Blyth E (1846). "Notes on the Fauna of the Nicobar Islands". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 15: 367-379. (Trigonocephalus cantori, new species, p. 377).
  • Das I (1999). "Biogeography of the amphibians and reptiles of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India". pp. 43–77. In: Ota H (editor) (1999). Tropical Island Herpetofauna: Origin, Current Diversity, and Conservation. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 353 pp. ISBN 978-0444501950.
  • Parkinson CL (1999). "Molecular systematics and biogeographical history of Pit Vipers as determined by mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences". Copeia 1999 (3): 576-586.
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