Title
Morphometric analysis of Trimeresurus vogeli (David, Vidal and Pauwels, 2001), with new data on diagnostic characteristics, distribution and natural history
Author(s)
Malhotra, A; Thorpe, RS; Stuart, BL
Published
2004
Publisher
Herpetological Journal
Abstract
Morphological similarity has created considerable taxonomic uncertainty among the Asian green pitvipers. A new species of green pitviper, Trimeresurus vogeli, was recently described from Thailand. T vogeli represents a distinct phylogenetic clade within the Trimeresurus stejnegeri group and is morphologically different from other clades of the T stejnegeri. group in several respects. However, the only obvious consistent difference between T vogeli and other clades of T stejnegeri is its lack of a red tail. Here, we perform a morphometric analysis to compare T. vogeli to other species with which it may be confused. Our data on T vogeli differs in many respects to those presented in the species description, including characters considered diagnostic. In the past, T vogeli has frequently been mistakenly identified as Trimeresurus popeiorum, from which it can be distinguished by the hemipenis structure in males. The tail colour characteristic is not reliable in distinguishing T vogeli from all populations of T popeiorum, and we review the morphological differences between these and T vogeli females. We report a range extension to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, and provide habitat data for the species. The range of T vogeli does not overlap with that of T popeiorum or other members of the T stejnegeri group.
Keywords
MULTIVARIATE-ANALYSIS; PIT VIPERS; PHYLOGENY; TAXONOMY; SNAKES

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