Craspedocephalus strigatus - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Horseshoe pitviper) Species of reptile

Craspedocephalus strigatus

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Craspedocephalus
Species:	C. strigatus
Binomial name
*Craspedocephalus strigatus* Gray, 1842
Synonyms
Trimesurus strigatus Gray, 1842 Atropos Darwini A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 Trigonocephalus (Cophias) neelgherriensis Jerdon, 1854 Trimesurus Nielgherriensis — Beddome, 1862 T. Darwini — Jan, 1859 B Darwini — Jan, 1863 T. strigolus Theobald, 1868 Crotalus Trimeres. strigatus — Higgins, 1873 T. strigatus — Theobald, 1876 T. Nilghiriensis Theobald, 1876 Lachesis strigatus — Boulenger, 1896 Trimeresurus strigatus — M.A. Smith, 1943 P. strigatus — Kraus, Mink & W.M. Brown, 1996 Trimeresurus strigatus — Herrmann et al., 2004 Trimeresurus (Craspedocephalus) strigatus — David et al., 2011 Craspedocephalus strigatus — Wallach et al., 2014

Craspedocephalus strigatus, commonly known as the horseshoe pit viper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Geographic range

Endemic to the Western Ghats, in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala states of South India, C. strigatus is distributed in the Upper Nilgiri Mountains (Whitaker & Captain, 2004). Historically it was misidentified and misreported from extralimital localities from both the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. Perhaps this is the species of pitviper confirmed from India to have the smallest geographic range of all.

The type locality listed is "Cape of Good Hope?" and "Madras?" (Madras Presidency , India). The former must be a mistake. Boulenger (1896) restricted the type locality to "Madras Presidency".

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. strigatus are montane forests, shola patches, and grasslands, at altitudes of 1,100–2,400 m (3,600–7,900 ft).

Behaviour

C. strigatus is terrestrial, with most of the sightings on the ground or on rock formations. It is probably diurnal, but its natural history is poorly known.

Diet

C. strigatus preys upon frogs, smaller snakes, and small rodents such as mice.

Description

C. strigatus may be distinguished from other pit vipers of peninsular India based on the presence of small internasals, the second supralabial in contact with the loreal pit, 21 rows of smooth or weakly-keeled dorsal scales at midbody, and a single row of scales between labials and suboculars. The common name of the species is based on the presence of a pale buff horseshoe-shaped (i.e., inverted "U") mark on the nape. Dorsally, the snake is pale brownish or buff-coloured with darker blotches of grey and some white streaks.

Of 12 snakes measured, the mean snout-to-vent length (SVL) was 24.4 ± 7.04 cm (9.6 ± 2.8 in), the tail length (tL) was 3.5 ± 0.8 cm (1.4 ± 0.3 in), and the weight was 172 ± 10.5 g (6 ± 0.4 oz).

References

^ Srinivasulu, C.; Srinivasulu, B.; Vijayakumar, S.P.; Deepak, V.; Achyuthan, N.S. (2013). "Trimeresurus strigatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T172655A1360236. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T172655A1360236.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^ McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (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).
^ Species Craspedocephalus strigatus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. (first edition). Berlin: Geitje Books. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
"Trimeresurus strigatus ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
Ganesh SR, Chandramouli SR (2018). "On the distribution of Trimeresurus strigatus Gray, 1842 – a corrective note". Sauria 40 (1): 87–91.