Trimeresurus gumprechti David, Vogel, Pauwels, and Vidal 2002

Nguyen, Tan Van, Brakels, Peter, Maury, Nathanael, Sudavanh, Somchit, Pawangkhanant, Parinya, Idiiatullina, Sabira, Lorphengsy, Sengvilay, Inkhavilay, Khamla, Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon & Poyarkov, Nikolay A., 2020, New herpetofaunal observations from Laos based on photo records, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 248) 14 (2), pp. 218-249 : 240-241

Trimeresurus gumprechti David, Vogel, Pauwels, and Vidal 2002

Gumprecht’s Pitviper ( Figs. 10C–D , 11A )

Two adult males and one female of T. gumprechti were observed by P. Brakels and N. Maury on 28 December 2018 in Bortaen District site 1, Xaignabouli Province (17°43.118’N, 101°06.670’E; elevation 1,400 m asl) .

Morphological characters of the individuals from Xaignabouli Province agreed well with the descriptions of David et al. (2002) and Nguyen et al. (2018). The photographed individuals ( Fig. 10C–D ) agree with the diagnosis of T. gumprechti in the following characters: slender, slightly laterally compressed body; head triangular, clearly distinct from the neck; eye in size; pupil vertical; internasals separated from each other by a scale; loreal pit present; two small scales between the nasal and the shield bordering the anterior region of the loreal pit; 3 preoculars; 1 crescent-shaped subocular; 2 postoculars; temporals small; 11–12 supralabials, the 1 st separated from the nasal, 3 rd large, in contact with subocular, 4 th and 5 th separated from subocular by a small scale; dorsal scale rows strongly keeled but smooth on the outermost row; ventrals 161 in males, 163 in female; cloacal plate undivided; subcaudals 64 in male (see Fig. 11A ), 57 in female, divided. Coloration of dorsum deep green with bicolored (dorsally white, ventrally red) ventrolateral stripe present in males; in female only thin white ventrolateral stripe; head laterally with a white postocular streak, ventrally edged with red in males, absent in female; tail green with dorsal part of the posterior half rusty red; ventral surfaces bright green; eyes deep red in males, deep yellow in female.

Ecological notes. The individuals were recorded at 2100–2300 h in a tree along a small narrow stream at 2–5 m above the ground. The surrounding habitat was mixed secondary montane forest.

Distribution. In Laos, this species has been previously recorded only from Khammouan Province ( Malhotra and Thorpe 2004). This is the second record of this species for Laos, as well as the first record from Xaignabouli Province. Elsewhere, this species has been reported from India, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand ( Uetz et al. 2020).

Figures

Fig. 10. (A) Pareas macularius in Longcheng District, Xaisomboun Province; (B) P. margaritophorus in Khounkham District, Khammouan Province; (C) adult male and (D) adult female of Trimeresurus gumprechti in Bortaen District, Xaignabouli Province; (E) adult male and (F) adult female of T. popeiorum in Xay District, Oudomxai Province. Photos by P. Brakels (A, C–F) and N. Maury (B).

Fig. 11. Ventral views of two Trimeresurus species from Laos, showing scalation and tail base; numbers correspond to subcaudal scale count. (A) Adult male of T. gumprechti from Bortaen District, Xaignabouli Province; (B) adult male of T. popeiorum in Xay District, Oudomxai Province. Photos by N. Maury.