How to Identify Stejneger's Pit Viper (Identification Guide)
Stejneger's Pit Viper is an East Asian bamboo pit viper recognized by its bright green body, a pale or red-and-white stripe along the lower sides, and a distinctive reddish-brown tail.
Read the full Stejneger's Pit Viper encyclopedia entry →
Key identifying features
Stejneger's Pit Viper (Trimeresurus stejnegeri, also placed in Viridovipera) is a slender, arboreal green pit viper of East Asia. It shows the classic pit-viper traits: a broad triangular head clearly distinct from a narrow neck, heat-sensing facial pits between the eye and nostril, vertically elliptical pupils, and keeled body scales.
Coloration & pattern
The body is bright grass-green to yellowish-green above, usually with a pale underside. A thin ventrolateral stripe runs along the lower side of the body, typically white in females and bicolored red-and-white in males. The tail tip is a contrasting reddish-brown or rust color, and the eyes are often coppery-red in males and yellowish in females.
Head, eyes & scales
The head is broad and triangular, covered in small scales rather than large plates, and set off clearly from the narrow neck. The eyes have vertically elliptical pupils typical of pit vipers. Body scales are keeled, giving a slightly rough texture despite the snake's sleek green appearance.
Size & body shape
This is a small to medium pit viper, generally 60–75 cm (24–30 inches) in length, with females larger than males. The body is slender and laterally compressed with a prehensile tail suited to an arboreal life among branches and bamboo.
Range & habitat where you'll see it
Stejneger's Pit Viper ranges across much of central, southern, and eastern China, Taiwan, and parts of northern India, Nepal, Myanmar, and northern Vietnam. It is arboreal, often found coiled on shrubs, bamboo, or low branches in forested hills and near streams, frequently at moderate elevations.
How to tell it apart from look-alikes
Its bright green color, red-and-white or white ventrolateral stripe, and reddish tail distinguish it from many similar green pit vipers of the region, though several closely related bamboo pit vipers share this general appearance. Careful attention to the stripe coloration, eye color, and tail hue, combined with precise locality, helps separate it from other green Trimeresurus-group species.
Frequently asked questions
What is a key identifying mark on Stejneger's Pit Viper?
A thin stripe along the lower side of the body—white in females and red-and-white in males—together with a reddish-brown tail tip.
How large does it get?
It typically reaches 60–75 cm (24–30 inches), with females larger than males.
Where is this snake found?
Across central, southern, and eastern China, Taiwan, and parts of northern India, Nepal, Myanmar, and northern Vietnam.
Is it terrestrial or arboreal?
It is arboreal, found on shrubs, bamboo, and low branches rather than on the ground.
What color pattern does it have?
Bright grass-green above with a pale ventrolateral stripe and a contrasting reddish-brown tail.