Bothriechis nigroviridis

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Bothriechis nigroviridis
Bothriechis nigroviridis (1).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Bothriechis
Species:
B. nigroviridis
Binomial name
Bothriechis nigroviridis
Peters, 1859
Synonyms
  • Bothriechis nigroviridisPeters, 1859
  • B[othrops (Bothriechis)]. nigro-viridisMüller, 1877
  • Lachesis nigroviridisBoulenger, 1896
  • Bothrops nigroviridisMarch, 1929
  • Bothrops nigroviridis nigroviridisBarbour & Loveridge, 1929
  • Trimeresurus nigroviridisPope, 1955
  • Bothriechis nigroviridisCampbell & Lamar, 1989 [2]

Bothriechis nigroviridis is a pit viper species found in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. [1] [3] No subspecies are currently recognized. [3] The specific name is derived from the Latin niger (black) and viridis (green) in reference to its distinctive color pattern.

Contents

Common names

Black-speckled palm-pit viper, [4] speckled palm viper, [5] black-spotted palm viper, yellow-spotted palm viper. [6]

Description

Adults may exceed 80 centimetres (31 in), although most are less than 60 centimetres (24 in) in length. They are relatively slender and have a prehensile tail. Two exceptionally large females were reported by Hammack and Antonio (1991) that measured 89.2 centimetres (35.1 in) and 93.7 centimetres (36.9 in). [4]

The color pattern usually consists of an emerald green (rarely yellowish green) ground color with strong black mottling. There may also be pale green dorsal blotches that have black edges. The belly is yellowish green and lightly mottled with black. The head is heavily mottled with black on top, often with black parietal stripes. There is also a clearly defined postocular stripe running back towards the angle of the jaw. The iris is heavily stippled and appears almost black. The tongue is also black. Juveniles have a similar color pattern, although it is more pale and the tip of the tail is black. [4]

Geographic range

Found in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. Also found in the cloud forests of the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera de Talamanca at 1,150–2,400 m altitude. The type locality given is "Vulcan von Barbo" (Volcán Barba, Costa Rica). [2]

According to Campbell and Lamar (2004), this species prefers medium to high elevations from 1,150 to over 3,000 m, and is found from the Cordillera Tilarán and Cordillera Central in the southeastern Alajuela province in Costa Rica, southeast through the Cordillera de Talamanca to Chiriquí province in Panama. It occurs on both the Atlantic and Pacific slopes. [4]

Habitat

This species inhabits high montane forest and lower montane wet forest and cloud forest. It has a limited range and is generally considered relatively rare, even though it is locally common in habitat that has not been disturbed. However, Picado (1931) mentioned that they soon disappear from cultivated areas. [4]

Venom

Fatalities have been reported, with the bite symptoms including intense pain, nausea and asphyxia. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Bothriechis schlegelii</i> Species of reptile

Bothriechis schlegelii, known commonly as the eyelash viper or the eyelash pit viper, is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae, native to Latin America. Somewhat small, arboreal snakes, B. schlegelii is perhaps best known for the namesake superciliary ("eyelash") scales above its eyes, and for having distinctly keeled or "raised" scales covering the bulk of its body. The species is also known for producing a veritable rainbow of color forms (morphs). It is the most common of the green palm-pitvipers, and is often present in zoological exhibits, owing to its general hardiness. The specific name schlegelii honors Hermann Schlegel, who was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.

<i>Bothriechis</i> Genus of snakes

Bothriechis is a genus of pit vipers, commonly called palm vipers or palm-pitvipers found predominantly in Mexico and Central America, although the most common species, B. schlegelii, ranges as far south as Colombia and Peru. All members are relatively slender and arboreal. The name Bothriechis is derived from the Greek words bothros and echis that mean "pit" and "viper" respectively. Ten species and no subspecies are currently generally recognized.

<i>Bothriechis lateralis</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis lateralis is a pit viper species found in the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talamancan montane forests</span> Ecoregion in Costa Rica and Panama

The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America.

Isthmohyla calypsa is a species of frogs in the family Hylidae. It is known from the southern Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica, Cerro Pando in Costa Rica and Panama, and the Pacific slope in southwestern Panama. It appears to now be extirpated from Costa Rica. Prior to its description in 1996, this species was confused with Isthmohyla lancasteri, a species now known from lower altitudes only.

Isthmohyla lancasteri is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to humid premontane slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica and western Panama.

<i>Bothriechis bicolor</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis bicolor is a pit viper species found in southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The specific name refers to the contrasting ventral and dorsal colors. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Atropoides picadoi, also known as Picado's jumping pitviper, is a species of venomous snake, a pitviper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Costa Rica. There are no subspecies that are recognised as being valid. It is monotypic in the genus Atropoides.

<i>Bothriechis aurifer</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis aurifer is a venomous pit viper species found in Mexico and Guatemala. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Bothriechis rowleyi</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis rowleyi is a species of pit viper, a venomous snake, in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Mexico. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

<i>Bothriechis marchi</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis marchi, also known as Honduran palm pit viper and March's palm pit viper, is a species of pitviper, a venomous snake, in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Central America. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

<i>Porthidium nasutum</i> Species of snake

Porthidium nasutum is a venomous pitviper species found in southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Lachesis stenophrys</i> Species of snake

Lachesis stenophrys, commonly called the Central American bushmaster, is a species of venomous pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is native to Central America.

<i>Lachesis melanocephala</i> Species of snake

Lachesis melanocephala is a species of venomous pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is native to Costa Rica and Panama. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

<i>Porthidium ophryomegas</i> Species of snake

Porthidium ophryomegas is a venomous pitviper species found in Central America. No subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Bothriechis thalassinus</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis thalassinus, also known as Merendon palm-pitviper or Merendon palm pit viper, is a venomous pitviper species native to Guatemala and Honduras.

<i>Bothriechis supraciliaris</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis supraciliaris, commonly known as the blotched palm-pit viper and blotched palm-pitviper, is a species of venomous snake in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to southern Pacific parts of Talamanca Mountain Range in Costa Rica and western Panama. No subspecies are recognized.

<i>Bothriechis guifarroi</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis guifarroi is a species of venomous green palm pitvipers discovered in 2010 in the Texiguat Wildlife Refuge, in Northern Honduras. Bothriechis guifarroi joins two other species of the genus Bothriechis, B. marchi and B. thalassinus, found in the Chortís Highlands of Honduras.

<i>Bothriechis nubestris</i> Species of snake

Bothriechis nubestris, the Talamancan palm-pitviper, is a species of pit viper native to cloud forests and montane rainforests in Costa Rica, specifically San José, Cartago and Limón. The snake was mistaken for Bothriechis nigroviridis.

References

  1. 1 2 Acosta Chaves, V.; Batista, A.; García Rodríguez, A.; Saborío, G.; Vargas Álvarez, J. (2019). "Bothriechis nigroviridis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T203660A2769445. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T203660A2769445.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN   1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN   1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. 1 2 Bothriechis nigroviridis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN   0-8014-4141-2.
  5. ↑ Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN   0-8069-6460-X.
  6. ↑ U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN   0-486-26629-X.
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