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OBSERVATIONS on LIVE Azemiops Feae, FEA's VIPER

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OBSERVATIONS on LIVE Azemiops Feae, FEA's VIPER could only be opened by forcing a finger into and gaplng of the mouth to take a breath Azem~opsfeae goes by several common ~t.When the finger was w~thdrawn,the glottis Closure of the glottis In the green turtle, or names: Fea'sviper (after its discoverer), jade- immed~atelyreturned to the closed posit~on. any other sea turtle specles, has not been belt snake (reference presumably to the To hold the glottis open and permit the pas- prev~ouslyment~oned In connect~onw~th broken ring pattern along its body), and sage of air, a 40-cm plece of 10 mm outside resusc~tat~onefforts If the goal IS to ventrlate white-headed viper (actually a m~sleading diameter, 7 mm Inside diameter, plastic tube the lungs, then an open alr passage must be name). In life, the head of Azemtops IS burnt was inserted 2 cm. With the turtle prone, the establ~shedThe lnsertlon of a small plastlc orange to yellow, with a symmetrical pattern lungs were then ventilated by gently blowing tube IS a s~mpleand conver~~entway to meet of dark rust colored spots. When preserved, into the tube at Irregular intervals over the th~sobject~veIn add~tton,slnce the lungs are this head color bleaches to white, the pre- next hour. No water drained out through the located dorsally, under the carapace, the sumed source of its latter common name. The tube, although fluid apparently from the prone posltlon for resuscttat~onwould seem tongue is banded. The body is gray black. stomach came out of the mouth. After being best to avoid compression from the heavy Beginning at the neck, the body is crossed by seemingly lifeless for over 2 h, the turtle sud- food-laden dlgestlve tract and other organs orange rings, one or two scales wide. These denly raised its head well into the airand took rings are often disconnected dorsally so that a deep breath. For the next 30 niin distinct LITERATURE CITED each side is slightly offset (Fig. 1). The rings breaths gradually became more frequent and do not continue across the belly. The belly is the tube was finally removed. Movement of Hopkins. S. R.. and J. I. Richardson (eds.). evenly cream colored with a slight pinkish the flippers also gradually resumed. The tur- 1984. Recovery plan For marine turtles. tinge. Two (2) of fifteen (15) individuals had tle was left prone for the next 11 h in a con- Prepared by the U.S. Marine Turtle Recov- bobtails, cleanly healed, likely the result of a fined area. In the morning it was found active ery Team. Approved Sept. 9, 1984 by the natural injury. and appeared fully recovered. A large quan- National M'arine Fisheries Service, 355 p. When threatened, all displayed a distinctive tity (1.5 kg) of vo~dedfeces was present. Shoop, C. R., and C. Ruckdeschel. 1982. defensive behavior. Characteristically the When released, the turtle swam a short dis- Increasing turtle strandings in the south- body would be flattened and thus laterally tance near the surface, took a breath, and east United States: A complicating factor. widened; the usually oval head was reconfig- dove out of sight in a normal manner. Biol. Conserv. 23:213-215. ured into more of a triangular shape by out- Dead green turtles of various sizes which I ward flaring of the back of the jaws (quadra- have examined have all shown a closed glot- GEORGE H. BALAZS tomandibularjoints). Somevibrated their tails tis, like the comatose specimen reported Southwest Fisheries Center rapidly. If intimidated at close range the here. This appears to be the normal state, Honolulu Laboratory snake would strike toward the threatening serving to prevent the inhalation of seawater. National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA object with mouth open, sometimes erecting, The glottis appears to open only with the P.O. Box 3830 other times not erecting the fangs. One outward movement of the hyoid apparatus Honolulu, Hawaii 96812. USA vigorousstrike reached over 18 cm in asnake 63 cm in total length. Thedisturbed Azemiops - sought cover (e.g. hidebox) when available, OBSERVATIONS ON LIVE field collectors have not released details, but or escape. the snakes were presumably caught in the The only report of stomach contents is of a Azemiops feae, FEA'S VIPER wild shortly beforeshipment when thesnakes common gray shrew (Marx and Olechowski Rare and poorly known even within its nat- would be preparing for hibernation. Observa- 1970). In captivity, we found all generally ural range of southern China and adjacent tions of these living snakes, supplemented by reluctant to feed. Those that did, usually ate southeast Asia, Azemiops feae nevertheless preserved specimens, give a clarified picture (newborn mice) unseen overnight. The three occupies a strateg~cphylogenetic position of these very primitive vipers. observed predatory strikes were newborn within advanced snakes. The first specimen collected was in Burma by the European explorer M. L. Fea. This find was reported by Boulenger in 1888, who named the mono- typic species in honor of Fea and allied the snake wi th Afractaspis and Causus. However. the most recent attempt to establish its phy- logenetic relationsh~p(Liem et al. 1971) con- cludes that Azemiops is a distant, but primi- tive evolutionary line within the Viperidae. Character comparison places it between the genera Causus on the one hand and Agkis- frodon on the other (Marx and Rabb 1972). The implication that Azemiops was an early offshoot of the mainline of vipers gives it an important position within the radiation of viperids. In China, Azemiops has been reported in the southern provinces-Yunnan, Guizhou. Sichuan. Guangxi, Fujian. Jiangxi, and Zheji- ang (Zhao and Zhao 1981). To this range is added, of course. Burma (Boulenger 1888) and preserved specimens in the Museum National D'Histoire Natureile (Paris) with col- lection locationsof North Viet Nam and Tibet. To summarize Zhao and Zhao (1981), this species is montane (100-2000 m in altitude), seasonal (active 7 March to 24 November), and crepuscular; it is found at roadsides, along rice fields, in straw or grass, and even beside or within homes. Figure 1. Azemiops feae. Fea's viper. In life the head is orange to golden with dark brown Over the last several years, we obtained mottling or spots symmetrically placed. The body is gray-black, crossed by orange rings living specimens from China that arrived in that may be continuous (e.g. first and third rings in neck) or broken (e.g. second and fourth the United States in November. The actual rings). The pictured individual, a male, was45.4/9.1 cm snout-vent/tail length respectively. Herp Review 17(4), 1986 mice which were not released but held in the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Zhao. Er-Mi and G. Zhao. 1981. Notes on jaws. None showed an interest in small Fea's viper (Azem~opsieae Boulenger) amphibians(Ranapipiens, Ambystoma macro- For care and concern over these snakes, . from China. Acta Herpetologica Sinica dactylurn), fish (guppies), or lizards (Anolis) thanks to Charles Leathers, Alison Archam- 5(11):71-66 although this could reflect a general loss of bault, and Darwin Vest. The following muse- appetite prior to hibernation. ums (and curators) generously shared valua- KENNETH V. KARDONG All live Azemiops were kept individually or ble specimens with me and I extend sincere Department of Zoology in pairs in terraria with 2-3 cm of potting soil thanks to: Field Muse(-~mof Natural History Washington State University on the bottom, temperature gradients (15-33" (H. Marx), National Museum of Natural His- Pullman, Washington 99164, USA C), hide boxes, and loose cover (paper). The tory (W. Ronald Heyer, Ronald I. Crombie), light cycle was 12L1120 upon arrival but two and Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle (J. weeks later reduced to 8L/16D I. Water was Guibe). available ad libitum. Although they would push at the potting soil with their snouts, no burrowing activity was observed. Hide boxes within the cooler temperatures were preferred LITERATURE CITED (15-20" C). Despite the continuous presence of water in shallow dishes, and observed occasional drinking, the snakes seemed Boulenger, G. A. 1888. An account of the Rep- especially susceptible to dehydration as evi- tilia obtai-ned in Burma, north of Tenasse- denced by weight loss (up to 10% in 30 days in rim, by M. L. Fea of the Genoa Civic some). Museum. Ann. Muse. Civ. Stor. Genova, Within five weeks of their arrival, histologi- 6:593-604. cal examination (H & E, light microscopy) of Liem, K., H. Marx and G. B. Rabb. 1971. The the left ovaries of two females revealed three viperid snake Azemiops: its comparative and five ovarian follicles, the largest approx- cephalic anatomy and phylogenetic posi- imately 1.5 x8 mm. Neither ovaries nor repro- tion in relation to Viperinae and Crotali- ductive tracts suggested oviparity or vivipar- nae. Fieldiana: Zool. 34:189-196. ity. One testis from each of five males was Marx, H. and T. S. Olechowski. 1970. Fea's similarly examined. In all the males, thesemi- viper and the common gray shrew: A dis- niferous tubules were up to three cell layers tribution note on predator and prey. J. thick, lumina were conspicuous, and stages Mammal. 51:205. up to advanced spermatids and spermatozoa Marx, H. and G. B. Rabb. 1972. Phyletic anal- were present. although neither were numer- ysis of fifty charactersof advanced snakes. ous. Fieldiana: Zool. 63:l-321. .
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