26 



Trimeresurus gracilis Oshima, 1920 [T] 

 Trimeresurus jerdonii GiintheT, 1875 [C] 

 Trimeresurus medoensis Zhao in Djao & Jiang (1977) [C] 

 Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus (Cantor, 1839) [C, H, T] 

 Trimeresurus stejnegeri Schmidt, 1925 [C, I, T] 



Trimeresurus stejnegeri stejnegeri Schmidt, 1 925 [C, T] 



Trimeresurus stejnegeri chenbihuii Zhao, 1995 [I] 

 Trimeresurus tibetanus Huang, 1982 [C] 

 Trimeresurus xiangchengensis Zhao, Jiang & Huang, 1978 [C] 

 Trimeresurus yunnanensis Schmidt, 1925 [C] 



Taxa not recorded in China but occuring close to its border and considered in our key: 



Ovophis monticola convictus (Stoliczka, 1870) 

 Trimeresurus albolabris septentrionalis Kramer, 1977 

 Trimeresurus cornutus Smith, 1930 

 Trimeresurus erythrurus (Cantor, 1839) 

 Trimeresurus kaulbacki Smith, 1940 

 Trimeresurus popeiorum ?>m\\h, 1937 



Mobile maxillary fangs; loreal pits present, upper head surface covered with small, irregular 

 shields: Trimeresurus-coxrvp\Qx. 



lA Overall dorsal color chiefly bright green or bluish green in life, green or blackish in preservative, 

 with or without small dark markings and a ventrolateral stripe 2 



IB Overall color brownish, greyish or dull dull greenish, always with well defined large blotches, 

 usually darker, or lighter with dark edges 10 



2A First supralabials fused with nasals or incompletely separated by a groove 3 



2B First supralabials totally separated from nasals by a suture (two independant scales) 5 



3A Upper head scales flat, smooth and imbricate; temporals smooth or feebly keeled; usually 21 

 (rarely 23) dorsal scale rows at midbody 4 



3B Upper head scales granular or tuberculate and juxtaposed; temporals strongly keeled; usually 23- 

 25 (very rarely 21) dorsal scale rows at midbody T. erythrurus 



4A Side of head below eyes yellow, white or pale greenish, much lighter than the remaining part of the 

 head; total length of females up to 104 cm; from southern China to Darjeeling area, Myanmar and 

 farther south T. albolabris albolabris 



4B Side of head below eyes green or blue green, barely lighter than the remaining part of the head; 

 total length of females up to 75 cm; Nepal and northern India T. albolabris septentrionalis 



5A 17 scale rows at midbody; less than 150 ventrals; 8 supralabials T. medoensis 



SB 19-23 scale rows at midbody; more than 150 ventrals; 8-1 1 supralabials 6 



6A Less than 50 subcaudals; 8-9 supralabials; 21 dorsal scale rows at midbody; 2 or 3 supraoculars; 

 rusty markings on dorsal parts and upper-head surface; Xizang Province and Nepal 

 T. tibetanus 



6B More than 50 subcaudals; 9-11 supralabials; 19-21 (rarely 23) dorsal scale rows at midbody; 1 

 single supraocular; no red markings on the back 7 



