Trimeresurus cantori, also commonly known as Cantor's pit viperBrown, John Haynes (1973). Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. . or Cantor's pitviper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). Asian Pitvipers. First Edition. Berlin: GeitjeBooks. 368 pp. . is a species of venomous pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is native to the Nicobar Islands and possibly the Andaman Islands of the eastern Indian Ocean. It was named after Theodore Edward Cantor (1809–1860), a Danish naturalist serving as a surgeon with the East India Company in Calcutta.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Trimeresurus cantori, p. 47). No subspecies are recognized as being valid.
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".
Description Adults of Trimeresurus cantori may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of .Das I (2002). A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. . (Trimeresurus cantori, p. 65). Boulenger reported that an adult female with a total length (tail included) of had a tail long.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).
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.
The weakly keeled dorsal scales are arranged in 27–31 rows at midbody. The ventrals number 174–184. The anal plate is entire, and the subcaudals, which are divided (paired), number 55–76.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of Trimeresurus cantori is forest, at altitudes from sea level to , but it has also been found in coconut plantations and rural gardens.
Behavior Trimeresurus cantori is nocturnal and will hunt near houses.
Diet Trimeresurus cantori preys upon small mammals and birds.
Venom The species Trimeresurus cantori possesses a potent venom, and some of its bites to humans have resulted in fatalities.
Reproduction Trimeresurus cantori is viviparous.
References
Further reading
Blyth E (1846). "Notes on the Fauna of the Nicobar Islands". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 15: 367–379. (Trigonocephalus cantori, new species, p. 377). Das I (1999). "Biogeography of the amphibians and reptiles of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India". pp. 43–77. In: Ota H (editor) (1999). Tropical Island Herpetofauna: Origin, Current Diversity, and Conservation. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 353 pp. . Parkinson CL (1999). "Molecular systematics and biogeographical history of Pit Vipers as determined by mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences". Copeia 1999 (3): 576–586.