''Craspedocephalus'' ''malabaricus'', (formerly ''Trimeresurus malabaricus)'' commonly known as Malabar pit viper, Malabar rock pit viper,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''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . or rock viper, is a

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

pit viper

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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the High-moderate elevations of western ghats of southwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.Recently this species complex was splited to three different species, Craspedocephalus malabaricus (North of palghat gap), Craspedocephalus travancoricus(South of shengottai gap), Craspedocephalus anamallensis(south of palghat gap upto North of shengottai gap). Malabar Pit Viper GM

Description

Adults may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of . The tail is

prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different orig ...

.Das, Indraneil. 2002. ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India''. Ralph Curtis Books. Sanibel Island, Florida. 144 pp. . (''Trimeresurus malabaricus'', p. 66.) The weakly keeled dorsal scales are arranged in 21 or 19 rows at midbody.

Ventral scales 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 ...

in the males number 143-158 and in females 136-159.

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 involv ...

entire.

Subcaudals In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...

paired and numbering 50-63 in males, 44-54 in females.

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 ...

large and usually touching. There are 9 or 10 supralabials, the first completely separated from the nasal. There is a single row of scales between supralabials and elongate subocular. The

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 20 ...

are smooth or obliquely keeled. Whitaker R, Captain A. 2004. ''Snakes of India, The Field Guide''. Draco books. Many different colour morphs are known to exist, including colours such as yellow, green, and brown. Shown here is a brown colour morph with pattern.

Distribution and habitat

The species is endemic to Western Ghats mountains, occurring along the southern and western

at elevation. The type locality is the Western Ghats of southwestern

. Records of this species are from Slient valley, western

Nilgiris The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

, Coorg,

Malnad Malnad (; Malēnādu) is a region in the state of Karnataka in India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountain range, and is roughly 100 kilometers in width. Malnadis a region of Karnataka ...

region of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, Castle Rock,

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

and northwards into Maharashtra in the Amboli hills. Kolhapur area. It inhabits riparian forests and is very partial to hill streams and torrents, situated within dense wet rainforests, sometimes also

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forests, where it may be found on the ground, on rocks present in stream beds, on low vegetation, or in shrubs.

Ecology

The Malabar pit viper is nocturnal and usually inactive in the day, sometimes seen basking on rocks or trees near streams. It is more commonly encountered during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...

months. The species preys upon

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s, lizards, nestling

bird 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 lightweig ...

musk shrew The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae. The outer layer of these shrews' teeth is white, unlike that of the red-toothed shrews. These species are typically found in Africa and souther ...

s, mice and other small animals.

Venom

''C. malabaricus'' is slow-moving, but capable of fast strikes. Its

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

causes moderate pain and swelling to humans. These symptoms subside in a day or two.

Description

Distribution and habitat

Ecology

Venom

References

Further reading