Trimeresurus cf. puniceus

David, Patrick, Vogel, Gernot, Vijayakumar, S. P. & Vidal, Nicolas, 2006, A revision of the Trimeresurus puniceus-complex (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) based on morphological and molecular data, Zootaxa 1293 (1), pp. 1-78 : 33-37

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.1293.1.1

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039D1618-8548-3816-C219-FE44FE4E22D1

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Trimeresurus cf. puniceus
status

 

Trimeresurus cf. puniceus

( Figs. 12–14 View FIGURE 12 View FIGURE 13 View FIGURE 14 )

Lachesis puniceus (non Craspedocephalus puniceus Kuhl, 1824 ): Boulenger (1896: 561, 1920: 291); De Rooij (1917: 286).

Trimeresurus puniceus: Lidth de Jeude (1922: 252) ; Mertens (1934: 696)?; Kopstein (1938: 133)?; De Haas (1950: 610); Hoge & Romano (1974: 151); David & Vogel (1996: 165, Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ); David & Ineich (1999: 289); Orlov et al. (2002a: 194); Leong et al. (2003: 168, 171).

This chresonymy includes only citations based on the specimen from Mt. Kerinci, definitely identified as Trimeresurus cf. puniceus as conceived here, on other specimens from Sumatera Barat Province (Alahanpanjang [ Kopstein, 1938] and Singkarak [ Mertens, 1934]), and specimens from Natuna Islands and Anamba Islands, which are all tentatively and somewhat arbitrarily referred to as Trimeresurus cf. puniceus . General references merely citing Trimeresurus puniceus from Sumatra without precision are not included.

Material (5 specimens). INDONESIA. Sumatra Island. BMNH 1915.12 .2.43 (female), “Sungei Kumbang, Sumatra, 4700 ft. ”, now Sungai [Stream] Kumbang, a stream on slopes of Mt. Kerinci , Province of Sumatera Barat. Mentawai Archipelago. USNM 31696 About USNM (female), Pulau Pagai Utara ( North Pagai Island ), Province of Sumatera Barat, Mentawai Archipelago. Natuna Islands . BMNH 95.5 .1.100 (female), “Pulu Laut, Natuna Islands”, now Pulau Laut , Kepulauan Natuna ; BMNH 95.5 .1.101 (male), “Great Natuna Island”, now Pulau Natuna Besar , Kepulauan Natunas. Natuna Islands . USNM 26544 About USNM (male), Pulau Siantan , Kepulauan Anambas ( Anambas Islands ) .

Taxonomic comments. These five specimens appear more or less morphologically close each from the other. In multivariate analyses, they form Cluster II, at the exception of the sole specimen from the Mentawai Archipelago ( OTU 9 ) which is the most differentiated. In contrast, multivariate analyses do not clearly separate specimens of OTU 3 (Natuna + Anamba Islands ) from the sole available specimen of OTU 2 from West Sumatra , although there are morphological differences (see below). Our limited available material does not allow us to ascertain the relationships of these specimens, nor their relationships with specimens from OTU 2 (Southern Sumatra). Furthermore, if the molecular analyses clearly show that Sumatran specimens show a high genetic divergence (distance between them of 8.5 %), these results were obtained from two specimens with no precise locality. At the present time, we cannot determine if we are in presence of two different taxa in southern and western Sumatra .

Leong et al. (2003) and Grismer et al. (2006) pointed out that Natuna and Anamba Archipelago, along with the islands of the Seribuat Archipelago, have phylogenetic relationships with some islands of the Sunda Shelf. Pending the collect of further specimens from western Sumatra and other islands, we refrain to conclude on the taxonomic position of these animals, and we just refer it to as Trimeresurus cf. puniceus . We purposely adopt a conservative approach in not trying to define weakly supported new taxa on such a limited sample, being fully aware that these five specimens may well represent two or even three distinct taxa. The taxonomy of the T. puniceus ­group will be addressed in a subsequent paper. This unnamed taxon appears in the key given below.

Diagnosis. These specimens are referred to as Trimeresurus cf. puniceus on the basis of: (1) an overall brown coloration, with darker crossbands; (2) a distinctly projected and raised snout, strongly obliquely truncated when seen from the side; (3) internasals slightly extending out, weakly bilobate and sligthly raised; (4) 2 nd supralabials not bordering the loreal pit, topped by a prefoveal scale; and (4) 3–4 small, distinct supraoculars. Characters (3) and (4) separate Trimeresurus cf. puniceus from members of the T. borneensis ­group.

Description and variation. The longest examined specimen is a female, BMNH 1915.12.2.43, which is 609 mm long (SVL 518 mm, TaL 91 mm).

Morphology of head and body as described above for Trimeresurus puniceus , with, in all specimens, a triangular head, wide at its base, thick and flattened. Snout distinctly projected and raised anteriorly, strongly obliquely trunctated when seen from the side, with a distinct canthus rostralis, subrectangular with slightly bilobate and upturned nasals.

Most important characters are given in Table 9. Other main head scalation features include: two normal, upturned internasals on each side, separated by 1 scale in the three specimens of OTU 3, 2 scales in others; 2–3 small postoculars; 3 or 4 small, narrow supraoculars on each side, more or less pyramidal, extending out of the margin of the head and raised in OTU 2, strongly erect in OTU 9, and flat (2 specimens) or convex (1 specimen) in OTU 9; 6–8 slightly enlarged scales on upper snout surface, smooth, flat and juxtaposed; occipital and temporal scales smooth or weakly keeled; 9–11 SL; 3 rd SL separated from the subocular by 1 or 2 scales; 4 th SL and 5 th SL separated from subocular by 2 scales on each side in all specimens; 11–14 IL.

In preservative, the background colour of these specimens is dark brown or dark greyish­brown, with irregular dark brown or nearly black dorsal markings, as in T. puniceus . Male from Anamba Islands (USNM 26544) is dark seagrey with dark grey dorsal blotches. Postocular streak present, although quite subdued. Venter dark brown or dark grey, depending on specimens.

Comparison with other species. As a whole, Trimeresurus cf. puniceus differs essentially from T. puniceus by (1) a low number of ventral scales in females, 141–144 vs. 153–163 in females of T. puniceus , and (2) supraocular scales more raised and extending out from the lateral side of the head. All specimens of Cluster II are morphologically differentiated from other specimens of the T. puniceus ­group from Java and the provinces of Bengkulu and Lampang of South Sumatra (Cluster I), referred above to as Trimeresurus puniceus (see below).

The two specimens from West Sumatra and the adjacent North Pagai Island especially show a lower number of ventral scales. Those from the Natuna and Anamba Islands show also a lower number of ventrals and are differenciated by flat supraoculars .

Range ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ). INDONESIA. Sumatra Island. Sumatera Barat Province: Alahanpanjang ( Kopstein, 1938), Mt. Kerinci ( Boulenger, 1920; examined specimen), Singkarak ( Mertens, 1934). Mentawai Archipelago. Pulau Pagai Utara (North Pagai Island) (examined specimen). Kepulauan Natuna (Natuna Islands). Pulau Natuna Besar

(Bunguran, or Great Natuna Island) and Pulau Laut (Laut Island) (examined specimens). Kepulauan Anambas (Anamba Islands). Pulau Siantan (Siantan Island; examined specimen).

In the southern part of its range, Trimeresurus cf. puniceus may occur in sympatry with Trimeresurus puniceus , whereas, in the north, it may occur in sympatry with Trimeresurus andalasensis (see below), also known from the Padang highlands. Specimens recorded by Matsui et al. (1984) from Mt. Gadut, Sumatera Barat Province, are here referred to as Trimeresurus andalasensis spec. nov. (see below) and not to T. puniceus or T. cf. puniceus as suggested in David & Vogel (1996; as T. puniceus ) on the basis of ventral scale counts. We cannot identify to which species should be referred the specimen from Padang, Province of Sumatera Barat recorded in Hubrecht (1887; as Trigonocephalus puniceus ).

Biology. According to Boulenger (1920), specimen BMNH 1915.12.2.43 was collected on slopes of Mt. Kerinci at 4700 feet. We have no data for other specimens.

Comments. None of the specimens referred here to Trimeresurus cf. puniceus has been depicted in the literature. Specimens from Indrapura, Sumatera Barat Province, are depicted in Gumprecht & Tepedelen (1999: 26: Figs. 1–3 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 ; 28 View FIGURE 28 : Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ; 29 View FIGURE 29 : Figs. 8–9 View FIGURE 8 View FIGURE 9 ); they are identical in pattern and coloration with specimens from Bengkulu. As these authors did not provide detailed scale counts, we cannot identify these specimens. Nevertheless, they might be conspecific with the specimen from Mt. Kerinci identified here as Trimeresurus cf. puniceus .

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Viperidae

Genus

Trimeresurus

Loc

Trimeresurus cf. puniceus

David, Patrick, Vogel, Gernot, Vijayakumar, S. P. & Vidal, Nicolas 2006
2006
Loc

Trimeresurus puniceus: Lidth de Jeude (1922: 252)

Leong, T. M. & Grismer, L. L. & Mumpuni 2003: 168
Orlov N. & Ananjeva, N. & Barabanov, A. & Ryabov, S. & Khalikov, R. 2002: 194
David, P. & Ineich, I. 1999: 289
David, P. & Vogel, G. 1996: 165
Hoge, A. R. & Romano, S. A. R. W. L. 1974: 151
De Haas, C. P. J. 1950: 610
Kopstein, F. 1938: 133
Mertens, R. 1934: 696
Lidth de Jeude, T. W. van 1922: )
1922
Loc

Lachesis puniceus

Boulenger, G. A. 1920: 291
De Rooij, N. 1917: 286
Boulenger, G. A. 1896: 561
1896
Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF