taxonID	type	description	language	source
AB3463D714785EA195E23766F4A0EF23.taxon	description	Tables 4, 5; Figs 3, 4 A, B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 B, C, 10 A, B, 11 A 1, A 2	en	Xu, Yuhao, Deng, Jundong, Zhang, Tierui, Nguyen, Tan Van, Weng, Shiyang, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Vogel, Gernot, Sun, Fanyue, Liao, Chencan, Peng, Lifang (2025): A ‘ little dragon’ from Kunming City: a new green pit viper from Yunnan Province, China (Squamata, Viperidae, Trimeresurus). Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2267-2293, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175879
AB3463D714785EA195E23766F4A0EF23.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. The new species Trimeresurus loong sp. nov. is distinguished from all of its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) first supralabial completely separated from the nasal scale; (2) hemipenis short and spinose, reaching the 10 th – 11 th subcaudal when fully everted; (3) moderate adult body size, with a maximum SVL of 601 mm in males and 657 mm in females; (4) dorsal scales in 19 (21 or 23) – 19 – 15 rows, keeled except for the outermost rows; (5) VS 150 – 151 in males and 157 – 158 in females; (6) SC 67 – 68 in males and 57 – 64 in females; (7) iris amber and sometimes exhibiting a faint reddish hue in adult males and yellowish in adult females; (8) body uniformly bright grass-green; (9) postocular streak narrow and white, with a few scale margins slightly tinged with yellow or reddish-brown in males, and absent in females; (10) ventrolateral stripe along the first dorsal scale row, variable in coloration in males, occurring in two forms, the first is a narrow white band bordered dorsally by a faint yellowish margin and ventrally by a red line, with a diffuse brownish tinge below the red line; the second is a narrow white band bordered by faint yellowish margins; and in females, the stripe is absent or reduced, and almost entirely white when present; (11) the ventral surfaces pale yellowish white or pale greenish-yellow anteriorly; gradually transitioning to greenish-yellow or light green toward the posterior body; (12) tail distinctly bicolored dorsally, green anteriorly and becoming almost uniformly orange or light orange-red posteriorly.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Deng, Jundong, Zhang, Tierui, Nguyen, Tan Van, Weng, Shiyang, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Vogel, Gernot, Sun, Fanyue, Liao, Chencan, Peng, Lifang (2025): A ‘ little dragon’ from Kunming City: a new green pit viper from Yunnan Province, China (Squamata, Viperidae, Trimeresurus). Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2267-2293, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175879
AB3463D714785EA195E23766F4A0EF23.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific epithet loong is a Latinized appositive noun derived from the Chinese word “ 龙 ” (lóng), meaning “ loong ” or “ dragon. ” In Chinese culture, snakes are often regarded as “ little dragons ” or “ lesser dragons ” because of their serpentine form and symbolic association with the dragon (loong). The name also refers to the type locality, Qinglongxia (青龙峡), which literally translates to “ Green Dragon Gorge. ” The vivid green coloration of the new species echoes this name, establishing both symbolic and geographical connections. In addition, the year 2025, which marks the discovery and collection of this species, corresponds to the Year of the Snake in the lunar calendar. We therefore propose the common names “ 昆明竹叶青蛇 ” (Ku ̄ n Mi ́ ng Zhu ́ Ye ̀ Qi ̄ ng She ́) in Chinese and “ Kunming Green Pit Viper ” in English, referring to its type locality Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Deng, Jundong, Zhang, Tierui, Nguyen, Tan Van, Weng, Shiyang, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Vogel, Gernot, Sun, Fanyue, Liao, Chencan, Peng, Lifang (2025): A ‘ little dragon’ from Kunming City: a new green pit viper from Yunnan Province, China (Squamata, Viperidae, Trimeresurus). Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2267-2293, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175879
AB3463D714785EA195E23766F4A0EF23.taxon	description	Description of holotype. (Fig. 3) Morphology. Adult male in a good state of preservation. Body cylindrical and elongated, with SVL 517 mm, TAL 129 mm, and TL 646 mm; tail relatively long, TAL / TL ratio 0.20; head triangular, wide at base, clearly distinct from the neck, HL 25.8 mm, HW 17.7 mm, HH 9.8 mm, HW / HL ratio 0.69. Snout elongate, round anteriorly, ESD 8.6 mm, EN 5.4 mm, ESD / HL ratio 0.33. Eyes of moderate size, ED 3.3 mm, ED / ESD ratio 0.38, and ED / HL ratio 0.13; pupil is vertically elliptical, becoming progressively narrower in brighter light and widening in dimmer conditions in live individual. Head scalation. Rostral triangular, slightly visible from above; nasal single, undivided, completely separated from the first supralabial; nostril positioned centrally within the nasal scale; a pair of slightly enlarged internasals, separated from each other by two small anterior scales and one larger posterior scale; 3 / 4 canthal scales bordering the canthus rostralis between the internasal and corresponding supraocular. Loreal pit present, triangular in shape, located closer to eye than to nostril. PRO 3 / 3, elongate, two upper preoculars positioned above the loreal pit, both in contact with the single loreal, the lower preocular forms the lower margin of the loreal pit and contacts the 3 rd supralabial; PO 2 / 2; SBO 1 / 1, long and crescent-like, contacting the 3 rd supralabial, separated from the 4 th – 6 th supralabial by two row of scales; SO 1 / 1, large, SOL 4.3 mm, SOW 1.9 mm. Scales on the dorsal surface of the snout enlarged, flat, smooth, and irregular in shape, gradually decreasing in size posteriorly; cephalic scales small, smooth, and irregularly shaped; IOS 9; temporal scales smooth and occipital scales very weakly keeled. SL 10 / 10, the 1 st supralabial triangular; the 2 nd is the tallest, with a concave upper part forming the anterior border of the loreal pit, completely separated from the nasal by two small scales; the 3 rd widest, with the remaining supralabials gradually decreasing in size posteriorly; IL 12 / 11, the first pair in contact with each other behind the mental; the first two pairs in contact with the single pair of chin shields. Body scalation. DSR 19 - 19 - 15; at midbody, all dorsal scale rows except the outermost are weakly keeled, with keels faint laterally and becoming more distinct toward the mid-dorsal rows. The outermost row is completely smooth. VS 150 (+ 2 preventrals); SC 67, paired; CP entire. Hemipenis (Fig. 4). Described based on the everted left organ. When fully everted, the hemipenis is relatively short and robust, extending to the 11 th subcaudal scale. Total length (HTL) 27.4 mm; total width (HTW) 12.9 mm. It is Y-shaped and bilaterally symmetrical, with truncus length (HCL) 18.0 mm, HCL / HTL ratio 0.66. The basal one-fifth of the truncus is smooth. Above this region, a sparse ring of fine spines appears. These small spinules extend upward along the outer margin of the sulcus spermaticus, gradually increasing in size to form a row of slightly larger keratinized spines, which disappear halfway along the bifurcated region. These spines are arranged in a nearly symmetrical pattern on both sides, with 14 well-developed keratinized spines on the left and 18 on the right (excluding the smaller spines along the margin of the sulcus spermaticus). On the sulcate side, the area medial to the sulcus spermaticus corresponds to the calyx region, while the lateral area constitutes the spine region. On the asulcate side, the boundary between the spine and calyx regions is oblique and clearly demarcated; the calyculate region is restricted to the distal half of each branch. The sulcus spermaticus is divided and runs centrifugally, extending nearly to the tip of each branch. It bifurcates at a distance of 8.8 mm from the bottom of the hemipenis, with an SPBD / HCL ratio of 0.49. The sulcal lips are well developed but not prominently raised, and lack spinules. Coloration of holotype in life (Fig. 5). The dorsal surface of the head and body is bright and grass-green, lacking crossbars or mottling, with a slightly paler tone along the sides that deepens toward the middle. The interstitial skin between the dorsal scales is relatively uniformly dark grayish-black or black, visible only when the body is inflated. A narrow postocular stripe, white with a faint yellowish margin, extends posteriorly from below the loreal pit, passes beneath the eye, and ultimately merges with a distinct, continuous ventrolateral stripe that runs along the first dorsal scale row from just behind the corner of the mouth to the cloacal plate, and continues as a broken line onto the anterior part of the tail. The ventrolateral stripe consists of a narrow white line occupying the center of the first dorsal scale row, bordered dorsally by a faint yellowish edge, and ventrally by a thin, red line, with a diffuse brownish tinge below the red line and the upper and lower margins of the scales remaining green. The dorsal scales immediately above the stripe are bright green with fine creamish-blue speckling. The dorsal surface of the tail is distinctly bicolored, green in the anterior half and gradually suffused with nearly uniform light orange-red toward the distal half, with the tail tip blackish brown (Fig. 6 A). The infralabials are light green, transitioning to light yellowish white toward the ventral surface of the head. On the anterior portion of the venter, the lateral edges are yellowish-green, while the center is creamish-yellow. Posterior to the midbody, the ventral surface becomes more uniformly light green or yellowish-green. The anterior portion of the ventral surface of the tail is pale green, while the posterior portion is orange-red. The iris is amber with a faint, almost imperceptible reddish tint and a subtle golden hue. Coloration of the holotype in preservative. As the holotype had been preserved in alcohol for less than one month at the time of description, its coloration had not undergone any substantial change. Minor alterations were observed only in certain regions: the eyes turned pale gray, several lateral rows of dorsal scales had turned dull yellowish-green, and the small bluish-white speckles had gradually disappeared. The yellow upper margin of the ventrolateral stripe has disappeared, the central red line has become dull, and the stripe has changed to white with reddish-brown. The ventral surface of the head had gradually become pale creamish-yellow; the pale yellowish-green coloration along the lateral margins of the anterior ventral body had faded; and the central yellowish-white region had become even paler.	en	Xu, Yuhao, Deng, Jundong, Zhang, Tierui, Nguyen, Tan Van, Weng, Shiyang, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Vogel, Gernot, Sun, Fanyue, Liao, Chencan, Peng, Lifang (2025): A ‘ little dragon’ from Kunming City: a new green pit viper from Yunnan Province, China (Squamata, Viperidae, Trimeresurus). Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2267-2293, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175879
AB3463D714785EA195E23766F4A0EF23.taxon	distribution	Distribution and natural history. Currently, Trimeresurus loong sp. nov. is certainly known only from the type locality, Qinglongxia, Anning City, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China, at an elevation of approximately 1,822 m asl. All specimens were encountered during the first half of the night, coiled within shrubs on hillsides near streams in well-preserved broad-leaved forest (Fig. 10 A – C), when nighttime temperatures ranged 15 ° C ~ 18 ° C. The female specimen QHU R 2025031 defecated immediately when disturbed during capture. Its feces contained numerous bird feathers, suggesting that small birds may constitute part of the adult diet of this species (Fig. 10 D).	en	Xu, Yuhao, Deng, Jundong, Zhang, Tierui, Nguyen, Tan Van, Weng, Shiyang, Poyarkov, Nikolay A., Vogel, Gernot, Sun, Fanyue, Liao, Chencan, Peng, Lifang (2025): A ‘ little dragon’ from Kunming City: a new green pit viper from Yunnan Province, China (Squamata, Viperidae, Trimeresurus). Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4): 2267-2293, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.175879
