Trimeresurus cantori

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Viperoidea

Familia: Viperidae
Subfamilia: Crotalinae
Genus: Trimeresurus
Subgenus: Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus)
Species: Trimeresurus cantori
Name

Trimeresurus cantori (Blyth, 1846)

Holotype: ZSI 2959.

Type locality: “Nicobar Islands”.
Combinations

Trigonocephalus cantori Blyth, 1846: 377 [original combination]
Trimeresurus viridis cantori — Blyth, 1861: 110 [subsequent combination]
Trimeresurus cantori — Günther, 1864 [subsequent combination]
Lachesis cantori — Boulenger, 1896: 551 [subsequent combination]
Cryptelytrops cantori — Malhotra & Thorpe, 2004 [subsequent combination]
Trimeresurus (Trimeresurus) cantori — David et al., 2011 [subsequent combination]

References
Primary references

Blyth, E. Blyth, E. 1846. Notes on the fauna of the Nicobar islands. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 15: 367–379. BHL

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Trimeresurus cantori. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 3 March 2019.

Vernacular names
English: Cantor's Pit Viper

Trimeresurus cantori, commonly known as Cantor's pit viper[4] or Cantor's pitviper,[5] is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the Subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the Nicobar Islands of India.[6] It was named after Theodore Edward Cantor (1809-1860), a Danish naturalist serving as a surgeon with the East India Company in Calcutta.[7] No subspecies are recognized as being valid.[6]

Geographic range

Trimeresurus cantori is found in the Nicobar Islands (which are in the Bay of Bengal), India, and possibly in the Andaman Islands. The type locality given is "Nicobars".[2]
Description

Adults of T. cantori may attain a snout-vent length (SVL) of 115 cm (45 in).[8] Boulenger reported that an adult female with a total length of 102 cm (40 in) had a tail 14 cm (5.5 in) long.[9]

This species varies in pattern and color. Dorsally, it may be green, dark brown, or light brown. Green individuals may have yellow spots, and brown specimens may have darker spots. Running along each side of the head, below the eye and above the upper lip, is a cream-colored stripe. There is also a cream-colored stripe on the first row of dorsal scales on each side of the body. Ventrally, it is greenish or cream-colored, with some brown spots on the underside of the tail.[8]

The weakly keeled dorsal scales are arranged in 27 to 31 rows at midbody. The ventrals number 174-184. The anal plate is entire, and the subcaudals, which are divided, number 55-76.[9]
Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of T. cantori is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 200 m (660 ft), but it has also been found in coconut plantations and rural gardens.[1]
Behavior

Trimeresurus cantori is nocturnal and will hunt near houses.[8]
Diet

Trimeresurus cantori preys upon small mammals and birds.[8]
Venom

The species T. cantori possesses a potent venom, and some of its bites to humans have resulted in fatalities.[8]
Reproduction

T. cantori is viviparous.[3]
References

Mohapatra P (2021). "Trimeresurus cantori ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T194059A2295681.en. Accessed on 08 January 2022.
McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (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).
Species Trimeresurus cantori at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
Brown, John Haynes (1973). Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. First Edition. Berlin: GeitjeBooks. 368 pp. ISBN 3-937975-00-4.
"Trimeresurus cantori ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Trimeresurus cantori, p. 47).
Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. (Trimeresurus cantori, p. 65).

Boulenger GA (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the ... Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Lachesis cantoris, p. 551).