Protobothrops cornutus

Protobothrops cornutus, commonly known as the Fan-Si-Pan horned pitviper,[4] is a venomous pit viper species endemic to Vietnam. Previously, it had been known from only two specimens, but was recently rediscovered in the central part of the country. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5]

Protobothrops cornutus

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Protobothrops
Species:
P. cornutus
Binomial name
Protobothrops cornutus
Synonyms[3]
  • Trimeresurus cornutus
    M.A. Smith, 1930
  • Ceratrimeresurus shenlii
    Liang & Liu, 2003
  • Protobothrops cornutus
    – Herrmann et al., 2004

Geographic range

Found in Vietnam in Bạch Mã and Tonkin. The type locality given is "Fan-si-pan mountains, Tonkin, Indo-China"[2] (Mount Fansipan, Sa Pa District, Nghệ An Province, northwestern Vietnam).[4]

Gumprecht et al. (2004) write that, previously, this species had been known from only two specimens, but was rediscovered in central Vietnam (Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Quảng Bình Province) in 2001 (Ziegler and Herrmann, 2002).[4]

Habitat

It occurs in rainforests at low elevations.[2]

Close-up of head, showing "horns" to which the specific name, cornutus, refers.

Conservations status

This species is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2001).[1]

Taxonomy

Herrmann et al. (2004) moved this species to the genus Protobothrops based on external and hemipenal morphology, as well as molecular data.[4]

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References
  1. Stuart, B.; Grismer, L.; Nguyen, T.Q. (2012). "Protobothrops cornutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T22151A2781729. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22151A2781729.en. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  2. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  4. Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. Asian Pitvipers. GeitjeBooks. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
  5. "Protobothrops cornutus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 August 2007.

Further reading
  • Smith, M.A. 1930. Two new Snakes from Tonkin, Indo-China. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 10, 6: 681-683.
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