Ovophis chaseni

Ovophis chaseni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Ovophis
Species: O. chaseni
Binomial name
Ovophis chaseni
(M.A. Smith, 1931)
Synonyms
  • Trimeresurus chaseni
    M.A. Smith, 1931
  • Ovophis chaseni
    – Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981[1]
  • Garthius chaseni
    – Das & Yaakob, 2007[2]
Common names: Chasen's mountain pit viper,[3] Chasen's tree viper,[4] Kinabalu brown pit viper[5]

Ovophis chaseni is a venomous pitviper species found on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. No subspecies are currently recognized.[6]

Etymology

The specific name, chaseni, is in honor of Frederick Nutter Chasen, who in 1931 was Curator of the Raffles Museum, Singapore.[7]

Description

Ovophis chaseni is heavy-bodied, and may attain 65 cm (25 1⁄2 in) SVL (snout-vent length). Dorsally it has a dark tan or reddish brown ground color, overlaid by dark brown crossbands, which are broken and alternating on the front part of the body, becoming regular on the posterior part. Ventrally it is yellow and gray. It has two rows of small scales between the upper labials and the eye.[5]

Scalation includes: 19, 17, or 15 rows of dorsal scales at midbody; 130-143 ventral scales; 20-30 paired subcaudal scales; and 6 supralabial scales with the third being the highest.[3]

Geographic range

Found on the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in northern Sabah in the region of Mount Kinabalu. The type locality given is "Kiau" (at the foot of Mt. Kinabalu, northern Borneo, ca. 915 m [3,000 feet]).[1]

Habitat

It is found in submontane forests, living on the forest floor.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. Asian Pitvipers. First Edition. Berlin: GeitjeBooks. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
  4. ↑ Brown JH. 1973. Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
  5. 1 2 3 Das, Indraneil. 2006. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-061-1. (Garthius chaseni, p. 54).
  6. ↑ "Ovophis chaseni ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
  7. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Garthius chaseni, p. 52).

Further reading


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