Taxonomic Status of the Sumatran Pitviper Trimeresurus (Popeia) toba David, Petri, Vogel & Doria, 2009 (Squamata: Viperidae) and Other Sunda Shelf Species of the Subgenus Popeia

The pitviper Trimeresurus (Popeia) toba was described on the basis of slight morphological differences between six specimens collected in northern Sumatra and the other recognized species of Trimeresurus (Popeia) from the Sunda Shelf. In January 2014, we collected two additional specimens of T. (P.) toba from Sumatra and located a third unexamined specimen at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense. We compared molecular and morphological data generated from these specimens with existing data for T. (P.) toba and the other Sunda Shelf Trimeresurus (Popeia). Our findings indicate that T. (P.) toba is indistinguishable from T. (P.) barati, the other species that occurs on Sumatra. Additionally, with the exception of T. (P.) nebularis, all currently recognized species of Trimeresurus (Popeia) from the Sunda Shelf are minimally divergent and the morphological characters used to diagnose the individual species broadly overlap. For these reasons, we conclude that all should be considered a single species, T. (P.) sabahi.