Common names: bamboo viper, Indian tree viper, more.

Trimeresurus gramineus is a venomous

Venomous snake

"Poisonous snake" redirects here. For true poisonous snakes, see Rhabdophis.Venomous snakes are snakes which have venom glands and specialized teeth for the injection of venom...

 pitviper

Crotalinae

The Crotalinae, commonly known as "pit vipers" or crotaline snakes, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Asia and the Americas. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 found only in southern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Description

Rostral scale as deep as broad or broader than deep; upper head-scales small, smooth, imbricate; supraocular scale narrow, rarely broken up; internasals in contact or separated by one or two scales; 8 to 13 scales on a line between the supraoculars; usually one or two, rarely three, series of scales between the suboculars and the labials ; 9 to 12 upper labials, second usually forming the anterior border of the loreal pit

Loreal pit

The Loreal pit is the deep depression, or fossa, in the loreal area on either side of the head in crotaline snakes . It is located behind the nostril and in front of the eye, but below the line that runs between the centers of each. It is the external opening to an extremely sensitive infrared...

, third largest; temporal scales

Temporal scales

In reptiles, the temporal scales are those scales on the side of the head between the parietal scales and the supralabial scales, and behind the postocular scales.There are two types of temporal scales:...

 smooth. Scales more or less distinctly keeled, in 21 (rarely 19 or 23) rows. Ventrals 145-175; anal scale

Anal scale

In snakes, the anal scale is the scale just in front of and covering the cloacal opening. This scale can be either single or paired . When paired, the division is oblique. It is preceded by the ventral scales and followed by the subcaudal scales....

 entire; subcaudals 53-76. Upper parts usually bright green, rarely yellowish, greyish, or purplish brown, with or without black, brown, or reddish spots ; usually a light, white, yellow, or red streak along the outer row of scales ; end of tail frequently yellow or red; lower parts green, yellow, or whitish.

Grows to a length of 2.5 foot (0.762 m); tail 6-5 inches.

Common names

Bamboo pit viper, Indian tree viper, bamboo snake, Indian green tree viper, green tree viper, bamboo viper, bamboo pitviper.

Geographic range

The range of this species has been restricted to southern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. According to Russell

Patrick Russell (herpetologist)

Patrick Russell was a Scottish surgeon and naturalist who worked in India. He studied the snakes of India and is considered the 'Father of Indian Ophiology'. The Russell's viper, Daboia russelii, is named after him.He was born in Edinburgh to John Russell as the half-brother of Alexander Russell,...

 (1796), the type locality is "Vizagapatam

Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...

, India."