Adult Tropidolaemus wagleri
Tropidolaemus wagleri is a venomous pitviper species native to southeast Asia. No subspecies are currently recognized. It is sometimes referred to as the temple viper because of its abundance around the Temple of the Azure Cloud in Malaysia.
This species is sexually dimorphic: the females grow to approximately 1 m (39⅜ inches) in total length, while males typically do not exceed 75 cm (29½ inches). They have a large triangular-shaped head, with a relatively thin body. They are almost entirely arboreal, and the tail is prehensile to aid in climbing.
They are found in a wide variety of colors and patterns, often referred to as "phases". In the past, some researchers classified the different phases as subspecies. The phases vary greatly from having a black or brown coloration as a base, with orange and yellow banding to others having a light green as the base color, with yellow or orange banding, and many variations therein.
Found in southern Thailand west Malaysia, in Indonesia on Sumatra, the islands of the Riau Archipelago, Bangka, Billiton, Nias, the Mentawai Islands (Siberut), Natuna, Karimata, Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan), Sulawesi and Buton, and in the Philippines on the islands of Balabac, Basilan, Bohol, Dinagat, Jolo, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Negros, Palawan, Samar and Tumindao. A type locality is not included in the original description, although Schlegel (1837) has given "Sumatra".