Stejneger's palm viper, Stejneger's bamboo pitviper, Chinese tree viper, Chinese green tree viper, Chinese bamboo viper, Green bamboo viper, Bamboo snake, Red tail snake
The Stejneger's pit viper (Trimeresursus stejnegeri) is a venomous snake found only in Asia. The scientific name, stejnegeri, is in honor of Leonhard Stejneger, the Norwegian-born, American herpetologist who worked at the Smithsonian Institution for over 60 years.
The Stejneger's pit viper is bright to dark green above and pale green to whitish below. There is a bright ventrolateral stripe, which occupies the whole of the outermost scale row and a portion of the second row. This stripe is bicolored orange or brown (below) and white (above) in males or bicolored or white only in females.
Stejneger's pit vipers are found in Northeast India and Nepal through Myanmar and Laos to much of southern China, Vietnam, and Taiwan. They prefer to live in tropical moist montane forests and can also be found near flooded agricultural land.
Stejneger's pit vipers are solitary nocturnal creatures; they prefer to avoid high daytime temperatures and to hunt when their favored prey are also active. Their heat-sensitive pits are also thought to aid in locating cooler areas in which to rest. As ambush predators, Stejneger's pit vipers typically wait patiently somewhere for unsuspecting prey to wander by. These snakes are not aggressive and strike only if cornered or threatened.
Trimeresurus stejnegeri has a potent hemotoxin. The wound usually feels extremely painful, as if it had been branded with a hot iron, and the pain does not subside until about 24 hours after being bitten. Within a few minutes of being bitten, the surrounding flesh dies and turns black, highlighting the puncture wounds. The wound site quickly swells, and the skin and muscle become black due to necrosis. The size of the necrotic area depends on the amount of venom injected and the depth of the bite.
Stejneger's pit vipers are carnivores. They eat small rodents, birds, frogs, and lizards.
Stejneger's pit vipers are viviparous and give birth to live young.
There are no major threats facing Stejneger's pit vipers at present. However, in some areas of their range, they suffer from habitat degradation.
According to IUCN, the Stejneger's pit viper is locally common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
