Indonesian Pit Viper

Indonesian Pit Viper

Lesser Sunda Islands pit viper, Sunda white-lipped pit viper

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Trimeresurus insularis
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
11 years
Length
50-71
19.7-28
cminch
cm inch 

The Indonesian pit viper (Trimeresurus insularis) is a venomous pit viper species with a thin body and a prehensile tail. These snakes are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on both sides of the head.

No

Nocturnal

Ca

Carnivore

Pr

Precocial

Ar

Arboreal

Ov

Ovoviviparous

Am

Ambush predator

Ve

Venomous

So

Solitary

No

Not a migrant

I

starts with

Appearance

The color patterns of Indonesian pit vipers are often found to be green or a blue-green color with specific populations even containing yellow variants as well. The scalation includes 21 rows of dorsal scales at the midbody, 156–164/156–167 ventral scales in males/females, 70–75/54–59 subcaudal scales in males/females, and 7–12 supralabial scales.

Distribution

Geography

These snakes are found in East Timor and in Indonesia in eastern Java, Adonara, Alor, Bali, Flores, Komodo, Lombok, Padar, Rinca, Romang, Roti, Sumba, Sumbawa, Timor, and Wetar. They inhabit dry monsoon forests, and tropical moist forests and can also be found in rural gardens.

Climate zones

Habits and Lifestyle

Indonesian pit vipers are arboreal and spend all their lives in trees. They hunt by night waiting patiently on a branch usually several meters above the ground. They like to hide between the foliage, relying on their great camouflage. If disturbed or approached too close Indonesian pit vipers will take a S-shape posture, open their mouth, and may even bite.

Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Indonesian pit vipers are carnivores that feed on various arboreal rodents, lizards, and small birds.

Mating Habits

INDEPENDENT AGE
at birth
FEMALE NAME
female
MALE NAME
male
BABY NAME
snakelet

Indonesian pit vipers are ovoviviparous meaning they give birth to live young.

Population

Population threats

This species is highly abundant across its native range and doesn’t face any major threats at present.

Population number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Indonesian pit viper total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.

References

1. Trimeresurus insularis Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimeresurus_insularis
2. Trimeresurus insularis on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/178038/7489272

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