''Protobothrops mangshanensis'', commonly known as the Mangshan pit viper, Mt. Mang pit viper, or Mang Mountain pit viper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL,

Captain A Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . is a

pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . or pit adders, are a subfamily (biology), subfamily of Viperidae, vipers found in Asia and the ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

and

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

provinces in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Taxonomy

This species was originally described in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Trimeresurus ''Trimeresurus'' is a genus of pit vipers native to Asia. They are found from the Indian Subcontinent throughout Southeast Asia, China, and the Pacific Islands. The genus currently contains 44 recognized species. Common names include Asian palm p ...

''. A new genus, ''Ermia'', named in honor of

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Zhao Ermi Zhao Ermi (; 1930 – 24 December 2016) was a Chinese herpetologist, born in Chengdu. His ancestors were Manchu Bannerman of Irgen Gioro clan who were stationed in Chengdu during Qing dynasty. He studied biology at West China Union University, u ...

, was erected for the species in 1993. However, by coincidence, this

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name was already in use for a genus of

locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...

s. The new generic name ''Zhaoermia'' was therefore proposed as a replacement name for ''Ermia''.Gumprecht A, Tillack F. 2004. Proposal for a replacement name of the snake genus ''Ermia'' Zhang, 1993. Russ. J. Herpetol. 11 (1): 73-76. More recently, Guo et al. (2007) transferred the species to the genus ''Protobothrops'', based on evidence ''T. mangshanensis'' is phylogenetically nested within the existing species of that genus. The species is therefore currently known as ''Protobothrops mangshanensis''. No

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are currently recognized.

Description

This is a nocturnal pit viper that is also known as the ''Mangshan iron-head snake'', ''Chinese pit viper'', and the ''Ironhead viper''. The species reaches an adult weight of and a length of up to . They have a white tail tip that they wiggle to mimic a grub so that prey comes into striking range—a behaviour known as

caudal luring Caudal luring is a form of aggressive mimicry characterized by the waving or wriggling of the predator's tail to attract prey. This movement attracts small animals who mistake the tail for a small worm or other small animal. When the animal approac ...

. Mangshan vipers eat frogs, birds, insects, and small mammals. The venom causes blood clotting and corrodes muscle tissue and can be fatal to humans if not treated. It is sometimes claimed that ''P. mangshanensis'' "spits"

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

, in a manner similar to spitting cobras, but this has been disproven. Unusually for vipers, ''P. mangshanensis'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

with the female laying clutches of 13–21 eggs which she will guard until they hatch.

Distribution and habitat

The species is known from the type locality: "Pingkeng, Mangshan (Mt. Mang),

Yizhang County Yizhang County () is a counties of China, county in Hunan, Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Chenzhou. Yizhang County covers . As of 2015, it had a registered population of 644,300 and a residen ...

", as well as from

Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County Ruyuan ( postal: Yuyuan; ), officially Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, is a county of northern Guangdong province, China, with a small border with Hunan to the northwest. It is under the administration of Shaoguan Shaoguan is a prefecture-level c ...

province, both in southern

. This pitviper is found in mountainous regions in southern Hunan and northern Guangdong at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. Although first discovered in the Mt. Mang mountain range, it is also found in surrounding areas, primarily in subtropical montane forest with thick vegetation and cover. It is often found lying along lichen-covered logs and other structures along animal trails to ambush prey, and can also be found in the numerous

limestone caves Limestone is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Limestone forms when t ...

in the region. Winter temperatures in the region come close to freezing, whilst summer temperatures can reach or higher.

Conservation status

This species is listed as "

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

" by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

on the basis that this species has an extent of occurrence and area of occupancy both unlikely to exceed , it is known from two locations at risk from harvesting for the international pet trade and as a local delicacy, and there is a continuing decline in the number of mature individuals.

Taxonomy

Description

Distribution and habitat

Conservation status

See also

References

Further reading