How to Identify the Andaman Pit Viper (Identification Guide)
A guide to recognizing the Andaman Pit Viper by its island-endemic coloring, slender build, and arboreal habits.
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Key identifying features
The Andaman Pit Viper is a slender, arboreal pit viper endemic to the Andaman Islands, identified by its typically green or greenish-brown coloration, prehensile tail, and the classic pit viper traits of a triangular head, vertical pupils, and heat-sensing facial pits.
Coloration & pattern
Most individuals display shades of green, olive, or yellowish-green, sometimes with faint darker crossbands or a subtle speckled pattern that helps them blend into foliage. Some individuals may show a more brownish tone. A pale stripe often runs along the lower flank, and the belly is typically lighter, ranging from pale yellow to greenish-white.
Head, eyes & scales
The head is broad, distinctly triangular, and clearly wider than the neck, covered in small scales. Eyes are relatively large with vertical pupils, an adaptation associated with nocturnal activity, and a heat-sensing pit sits between each eye and nostril. Body scales are keeled, giving a slightly rough texture despite the snake's otherwise smooth, slender look.
Size & body shape
This species has a slender, laterally compressed body suited to climbing, with a prehensile tail used for gripping branches. Adults are generally modest in length, and the overall build is lighter and less bulky than ground-dwelling mamushi relatives.
Range & habitat where you'll see it
Endemic to the Andaman archipelago, this pit viper is found in tropical forest, scrub, and vegetation near forest edges, where it rests coiled on branches, shrubs, or low foliage, often close to the ground but capable of climbing well above it.
How to tell it apart from look-alikes
Its green to olive coloration and slender, arboreal build distinguish it from stockier, ground-dwelling mamushi-type pit vipers found on the Asian mainland. Restriction to the Andaman Islands itself is a strong geographic clue for identification. As always, the triangular head, vertical pupil, and facial heat pit separate it from harmless green colubrids that may share similar coloring in the same forests.
Frequently asked questions
What color is the Andaman Pit Viper typically?
It is usually green, olive, or yellowish-green, which helps it blend into forest foliage.
Is this snake more arboreal or ground-dwelling?
It is primarily arboreal, with a slender body and prehensile tail suited for climbing branches and shrubs.
Where is this species found?
It is endemic to the Andaman Islands, occurring in tropical forest and scrub habitats.
How can you distinguish it from a harmless green tree snake?
Check for a broad triangular head, vertical pupils, and a heat-sensing pit between the eye and nostril, features absent in harmless colubrids.