''Protobothrops mangshanensis'', commonly known as the Mangshan pit viper, Mangshan pitviper, Mt. Mang pitviper, or Mang Mountain pitviper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S. 2004. ''Asian Pitvipers''. Geitje Books. Berlin. 1st Edition. 368 pp. . is a

venomous 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 ...

pit viper

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

provinces in China. No subspecies are currently recognized. This is a nocturnal pit viper that is also known as the ''Mangshan iron-head snake'', ''Chinese pit viper'', and the ''Ironhead viper''. They eat frogs, birds, insects, and small mammals. 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. The venom causes blood clotting and corrodes muscle tissue and can kill people. Unusually for vipers, ''P. mangshanensis'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), a ...

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

Description

The species reaches an adult weight of and a length of up to . 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 ...

, in a manner similar to

spitting cobras A spitting cobra is any of several species of cobras that can defensively spray a toxic secretion - functioning as both a venom (that can be injected via a wound) and a toxungen (that can be sprayed on the target surface) - from their fangs ...

, but this has been disproven.

Geographic range

The species is known from the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

: "Pingkeng, Mangshan (Mt. Mang),

Yizhang County Yizhang County () is a county in 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 resident population of 589,400. ...

", 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 (; Hakka: Seukoan) is ...

province, both in southern China.

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 and inv ...

" by the IUCN 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.

Habitat

This pitviper is found in mountainous regions in southern

and northern

at elevations of

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

. 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 ( calcium carbonate ) 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 . Limestone forms wh ...

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

Taxonomy

This species was originally described in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Trimeresurus ''Trimeresurus'' is a genus of venomous pit vipers found in Asia from the Indian Subcontinent throughout Southeast Asia, China, and the Pacific Islands. Currently 44 species are recognized. Common names include Asian palm pit vipers,Mehrtens JM ...

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

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and r ...

Zhao Ermi, 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 Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumst ...

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)Guo, P., A. Malhotra, P.P. Li, C.E. Pook & S. Creer (2007) New evidence on the phylogenetic position of the poorly known Asian pitviper ''Protobothrops kaulbacki'' (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) with a redescription of the species and a revision of the genus ''Protobothrops''. Herpetological Journal 17: 237-246. 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''.

Description

Geographic range

Conservation status

Habitat

Taxonomy

See also

References

Further reading