A new karst-dwelling, colorful pitviper (Viperidae: Trimeresurus) from northern Peninsular Thailand

Zootaxa. 2021 May 20;4974(2):307332. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4974.2.4.

Abstract

We describe a colorful and distinctively patterned, karst-dwelling pitviper, Trimeresurus kuiburi sp. nov., from the isolated, coastal massif of Khao Sam Roi Yot in Kui Buri District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, in northern Peninsular Thailand. The new species, member of the 'Cryptelytrops group' sensu Malhotra Thorpe (2004) and morphologically and genetically allied to Trimeresurus kanburiensis and T. venustus, differs from all pitviper taxa by a combination of red/purple bands on a green dorsum; a white concave suborbital stripe in males (straight and less visible in females); white, spaced vertebral dots in males (absent in females); pale green belly lacking dark dots or stripe on the lateral sides of the ventrals; partially fused first supralabial and nasal scale; 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody; 164171 ventrals; 6365 subcaudals in males, 5153 in females; maximal known SVL of 451 mm; and long, papillose hemipenes.

MeSH terms

  • Animal Distribution
  • Animal Structures
  • Animals
  • Female
  • Male
  • Thailand
  • Trimeresurus / anatomy & histology*
  • Trimeresurus / classification*