Beautiful Pitviper

About the Beautiful Pitviper

Trimeresurus venustus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to southern Thailand. Its common names include beautiful pit viper and brown-spotted pit viper. This species was considered a synonym of Trimeresurus kanburiensis until around the turn of the century. It was described by Gernot Vögel in 1991. It is in the subgenus Trimeresurus.

Derived from Latin, the name venustus means beautiful, and refers to the striking, intricate color scheme. This species has a slender body and is approximately 580 mm (23 in) in length. They have a triangular-shaped head, like all pit vipers. Their labials are green with brown patches and a dark postorbital stripe is present.

Their distinctive coloration ranges from vibrant green to olive green with brown or reddish-orange bands along the length of the body. In males, the dorsal area is an olive or bluish-green color, while females have a grass-green dorsal area. Their short snout is slightly flattened with a small ridge, and they have heat-sensing pits in-between their nostrils. Their irises are a light orange with brown specks. The dorsal scales are strongly keeled and have a count of 21 – 21 – 15... Wikipedia →