Bothrops campbelli

Bothrops campbelli
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Bothrops
Species: B. campbelli
Binomial name
Bothrops campbelli
Freire-Lascano, 1991
Synonyms
  • Bothrops campbelli
    Freire-Lascano, 1991
  • Porthidium almawebi
    Schätti & Kramer, 1993[1]
  • Bothrocophias campbelli
    Gutberlet & Campbell[2]
Common names: Ecuadorian toadheaded pitviper.[3]

Bothrops campbelli is a venomous pitviper species endemic to South America.[3] No subspecies are currently recognized.[4]

Etymology

Bothrops campbelli was named in honor of American herpetologist Jonathan A. Campbell.[5]

Description

The sizes of the specimens available range from the type specimen, an adult male 87.0 cm (34 14 in) in total length (Freire-Lascano, 1991), to 105.7 cm (41 58 in) for a large gravid female (Freire-Lascano and Kuch, 2000), to 121.9 cm (48.0 in) for a specimen from Imbabura, Ecuador, and another of 123.0 cm (48 38 in) from the type locality.[3]

The scalation includes 21-25 (usually 23) rows of dorsal scales at midbody, all of which are keeled except for the first rows. The posterior dorsals have tubercular keels, even in small specimens, while in large specimens these keels are highly elevated. There are 152-167/159-177 ventral scales in males/females and 51-64/48-60 paired subcaudal scales in males/females. On the head there are 3-8 intersupraocular scales, 7-8 supralabial scales, the second of which is usually fused with the prelacunal to form a lacunolabial, and 9-10 (usually 9) sublabial scales.[3]

Geographic range

Found in the Pacific lowlands and slopes from west-central Colombia to Ecuador. The type locality given is "Recinto Huagal-Sacramento, cantón Pallatanga, Provincia de Chimborazo, Ecuador. 1500-2000 mts. de altura [4,900-6,600 feet]".[1]

Taxonomy

In previous accounts, this species has often been included in Bothrops pulcher, e.g. Lachesis pulcher (Boulenger, 1896), Bothrops pulchra (Amaral, 1923), and Bothrops pulcher (J.Peters and Orejas-Miranda, 1970). Campbell and Lamar (1992) considered Bothrops campbelli to be a junior synonym of Bothrops pulcher, but their concept of latter taxon was incorrect. Schätti and Kramer (1993) argued that Bothrops campbelli (Freire-Lascano, 1991) was a nomen invalidum and suggested a new name, Porthidium almawebi, as a replacement. However, it is clear that Freire-Lascano's (1991) name is valid and has priority over the one proposed by Schätti and Kramer (1993).[1]

Gutberlet and Campbell (2001) moved this taxon to a new genus: Bothrocophias (toadheaded pitvipers).[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.
  4. "Bothrops campbelli". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  5. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Bothrocophias campbelli, p. 46).

Further reading

External links

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