Wildlifeof China
Jerdon's Pit Viper
Vipers
Photo: (c) joho tayu, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Protobothrops jerdonii
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly rats in adults; frogs in juveniles
Habitat
Forest, shrubland and grassland, 1,400–2,300 m
Range
North-east India, Nepal, Bhutan, northern Myanmar, south-western China and Vietnam
Size
Males to 83.5 cm; females to 99 cm
Jerdon's pit viper (Protobothrops jerdonii), also called the yellow-speckled or oriental pit viper, is a venomous snake of north-eastern India, Nepal and Bhutan, through northern Myanmar to south-western China and Vietnam. Three subspecies are recognised. (The Reptile Database; Wikipedia, general species account)
Males reach a maximum of about 83.5 cm and females about 99 cm. It prefers forest, shrubland and grassland at 1,400–2,300 m and has litters of five to eight newborns. Adults prey mostly on rats, while juveniles eat frogs of the families Ranidae and Rhacophoridae. (Wikipedia, general species account)
Quick answers
- What does the Jerdon's Pit Viper eat?
- Mainly rats in adults; frogs in juveniles
- What habitat does the Jerdon's Pit Viper live in?
- Forest, shrubland and grassland, 1,400–2,300 m
- Where is the Jerdon's Pit Viper found?
- North-east India, Nepal, Bhutan, northern Myanmar, south-western China and Vietnam
- How big is the Jerdon's Pit Viper?
- Males to 83.5 cm; females to 99 cm