Gloydius brevicauda
species of reptile
Gloydius brevicauda is a pit viper species endemic to China and the Korean Peninsula.
Common names: short-tailed pit viper, short-tailed mamushi.
Description
Adults are relatively stout with a broad head and a short tail. (The subspecific name, brevicaudus, is Latin for "short tail".)
The largest male examined by Gloyd and Conant (1990) was 71 cm (28 in) in total length of which the tail was 9 cm (3+1⁄2 in); the largest female, 69 cm (27+1⁄4 in) with an 8.2 cm (3+1⁄4 in) tail. On average, male specimens had a tail that was 12–15% (13.5%) of total length, while in females this was 11–13% (11.7%).
The scalation usually includes 21 rows of dorsal scales at midbody, all of which are keeled except the lowermost on the anterior part of the body. There are 135–149 ventral scales, and 30–44 mostly paired subcaudal scales. 95% of all specimens have 7 supralabial scales.
The color pattern consists of a light brown or gray ground color, overlaid with a pattern of 23–36 pairs of dorsolateral blotches or half-bands that oppose or alternate on either side of the middorsal line. These blotches are subelliptical in shape and brown in color with pale centers and dark brown to grayish brown borders.
The public source identifies “Gloydius brevicauda” as species of reptile. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gloydius, brevicauda and species.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3109274. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1990.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gloydius brevicauda” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.