TRIMERESURUS MAYAAE

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Context

Trimeresurus Mayaae, a new species of snake has been discovered at Umroi Military Station in the Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya.
Locally it is known as U Thlen, it is believed to be a malevolent and evil spirit that takes the form of a huge, man-eating snake.

About Trimeresurus Mayaae

In Mizoram the snake is named Maya’s pit viper in honour of the late mother of Col Yashpal Singh Rathee, Maya.
A new cryptic species of a green pit viper is described from northeast India, based on specimens collected from the state of Mizoram and Meghalaya.
The new species is a member of the subgenus Viridovipera and is sister to Trimeresurus medoensis based on molecular data for mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, whereas resembles Trimeresurus Gumprecht
A species of the genus Trimeresurus, characterized by
- hemipenes are short and strongly spinose
- body green in both males and females
- interstitial skin black
- moderate size, with a maximum total length of 750mm
- conspicuous bicoloured postocular stripe in males, thin and white below, wide and bright red above, faint white or no postocular stripe present in female
- vivid, wide bicoloured ventrolateral stripe, deep red below/white above in males, extending along the lower half of the tail, white in females
- eyes rust coloured in males, green in females
- tail mostly rusty or reddish-brown
- first supralabial distinct from nasal
- 19 or 21 dorsal scale rows at midbody, moderately keeled
- snout covered with rather enlarged juxtaposed scales
- internasals never in contact, separated by 1–2 scale
- supraoculars narrower than internasals, separated by 9–10 smooth cephalic scales.