''Craspedocephalus gramineus'', known as the bamboo pit viper, Indian green pit viper, or common green pit viper, is a venomous

pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subfa ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

found in the southern and north eastern parts of India. No

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are currently recognized.

Description

The

rostral scale The rostral scale, or rostral, in snakes and other scaled reptiles is the median plate on the tip of the snout that borders the mouth opening. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: ...

is as deep as broad or broader than deep. The upper head-scales are small, smooth, imbricate; supraocular scale narrow, rarely broken up. The

internasals In snakes, the internasal scales are those on top of the head between the scales that surround the nostrils. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. (7 ...

are contact or separated by one or two scales. There are 8 to 13 scales on a line between the

supraoculars In scaled reptiles, supraocular scales are (enlarged) scales on the crown immediately above the eye.Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ...

; usually one or two, rarely three, series of scales between the

suboculars In scaled reptiles, the ocular scales are those forming the margin of the eye.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . The name originates from the term ''oculus'' which ...

and the labials; 9 to 12

upper labials In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...

, second usually forming the anterior border of the

loreal pit The loreal pit is the deep depression, or fossa, in the loreal area on either side of the head in pit vipers (crotaline snakes). The area is located behind the nostril and in front of the eye, but below the line that runs between the centers o ...

, third largest;

temporal scales Temporal may refer to: Entertainment * Temporal (band), an Australian metal band * ''Temporal'' (Radio Tarifa album), 1997 * ''Temporal'' (Love Spirals Downwards album), 2000 * ''Temporal'' (Isis album), 2012 * ''Temporal'' (video game), a 200 ...

smooth. The dorsal scales are more or less distinctly keeled, in 21 (rarely 19 or 23) rows;

ventrals In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

145–175;

anal scale Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving s ...

entire; subcaudals in two rows 53–76. The upper parts are usually bright green, rarely yellowish, greyish, or purplish brown, with or without black, brown, or reddish spots; usually a light, white, yellow, or red streak along the outer row of scales; end of tail frequently yellow or red; lower parts green, yellow, or whitish. It grows to a total length of . The tail is in length. Boulenger GA. 1890. ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Batrachia''. Secretary of State for India in Council. (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xviii + 541 pp. (''Trimeresurus'', p. 425 & ''Trimeresurus gramineus'', pp. 429–430.)

Taxonomy and common names

It was first described in 1802 as '' Coluber graminaeus''. No

are recognized. Common names include: bamboo pit viper,Khaire, N. 2006. ''A Guide to the Snakes of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka''. Indian Herpetological Society. Pune, India. (Photographic guide with 61 species.) Smith MA. 1943. ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III. – Serpentes''. Secretary of State for India. (Taylor & Francis, Printers). London. xii + 583 pp., 166 figures. (''Trimeresurus gramineus'', pp. 515–517, Fig. 164.) Indian tree viper,Mehrtens JM. 1987. ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . bamboo snake, Indian green tree viper, green tree viper,U.S. Navy. 1991. ''Poisonous Snakes of the World''. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. . bamboo viper, Parker HW, Grandison AGC. 1977. ''Snakes – a natural history. Second Edition''. British Museum (Natural History) and Cornell University Press. 108 pp. 16 plates. LCCCN 76-54625. (cloth), (paper). bamboo pitviper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL,

Captain A Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. GeitjeBooks Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . ''boodro pam'', grass-green snake,Shaw. 1802. p. 420. and green pit viper.

Geographic range

The range of this species has been restricted to southern India especially widespread in a large area of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. It is also very rarely seen near

Harishchandragad Harishchandra Fort is a hill fort in the Ahmednagar district of India. Its history is linked with that of Malshej Ghat, kothale village and it has played a major role in guarding and controlling the surrounding region. History The fort is quit ...

and some other mountain ranges of Western Ghats (Sahyadris in Maharashtra). This snake is also found albeit very scarcely in the eastern region of India spanning from Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. The type locality is "

Vizagapatam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...

, India", which is based on

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **Ru ...

(1796).

Habitat

It is found in

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

groves and

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, usually near

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s.Das, Indraneil. 2002. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India''. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. . (''Trimeresurus gramineus'', p. 65.)

Behaviour

''C. gramineus'' is arboreal and

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

. When threatened, it is aggressive and does not hesitate to bite. The venom is hemotoxic and neurotoxic.

Diet

It feeds on

lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...

rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

and

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

Reproduction

''C. gramineus'' is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

. Adult females gives birth to 6 to 11 young, which measure up to in length.