NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Hutton’s pitviper
Tropidolaemus huttoni (Smith, 1949)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Common names: Hutton's pit viper. Hutton's tree viper,
Tropidolaemus huttoni is a little-known species of pit viper, a venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to the southern Western Ghats of India. There are no subspecies that are currently recognized. Little is known about this species, as this species is known only from two young individuals, based on which it was first described in 1949. Despite long-term and targeted herpetological surveys in the particular hill range (Meghamalai), it has never been re-sighted there or elsewhere since then.
A possible third specimen from the northern Western Ghats is considered to be of doubtful identity at best, as it shares several features typical of T. wagleri complex as well; and its provenance is also currently unresolved.
Wikipedia contributors, Tropidolaemus huttoni; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:37:37.693356+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tropidolaemus huttoni (Smith, 1949)
- Name authority
- (Smith, 1949)
- Common name
- Hutton’s pitviper
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Viperidae
- Genus
- Tropidolaemus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyViperidae
- subfamilyCrotalinae
- genusTropidolaemus
- speciesTropidolaemus huttoni (Smith, 1949)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tropidolaemus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| South Philippine temple pitviperTropidolaemus philippensis (Gray, 1842) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Temple pitviperTropidolaemus wagleri (Boie, 1827) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| North Philippine temple pitviperTropidolaemus subannulatus (Gray, 1842) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Trimeresurus huttoni Smith, 1949 Smith, 1949 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Tropidolaemus&species=huttoni Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:59BS9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.