Malayan Pit Vipers
The Malayan pit viper is a medium-sized venomous ground snake, Calloselasma rhodostoma, of tropical Southeast Asia. It inhabits forest edges from Vietnam to Myanmar (Burma) and southward through peninsular Malaysia to the islands of Sumatra and Java. Adults are just under 3 feet (1 meter) long. The body is pinkish gray with a series of large brown triangles, bordered in white, along the sides. A thin black line extends along the back from neck to tail. The head is markedly triangular, with large plates on the crown. The eyes have vertical pupils. A pit or depression between each eye and nostril is a heat sensor that locates prey by their difference from the surrounding temperature. The snake shelters in leaf piles, thickets, or fallen logs during the day. It becomes active at dusk, prowling for small mammals, birds, and frogs. When disturbed, it coils its body and vibrates its tail, making a rattling sound among the leaves and debris. In defense against predators, it can spread its rib...