Atropoides
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 Picado's pit viper, Atropoides picadoi
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Common names: jumping vipers.
Atropoides is a genus of venomous pit vipers found in Mexico and Central America. Three species are currently recognized.[2]
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[edit] Description
They grow to 60-120 cm, but with a heavier build than is typical for other snakes of the same length. Its coloration varies in hue from brown to gray, and with a darker, diamond-like pattern of dark brown or black dorsal marks.
[edit] Geographic range
Found in the mountains of eastern Mexico southeastward on the Atlantic versant and lowlands though Central America to central Panama. On the Pacific versant, they occur in isolated populations in east-central and southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.[1]
[edit] Behavior
The common name alludes to their ability to attack with a powerful thrust that can lift it off the ground, often by a few feet. They tend to hide under the foliage or other cover, making them difficult to spot.
[edit] Feeding
It is primarily nocturnal and feeds on small creatures such as frogs, rodents, and lizards.
[edit] Venom
Unlike most vipers, members of this genus will strike and then hold on and chew. In one case, a machete was used to prize off the jaws. March (1929) wrote that A. mexicanus (A. nummifer) will hang on and make half a dozen punctures unless quickly and forcibly removed. However, the effects of the venom include only transient pain and mild swelling. In one part of Honduras the locals even insist that the snake (A. nummifer) is not venomous. Laboratory studies suggest that Atropoides venoms are unlikely to lead to consumption coagulopathy and incoagulable blood in humans. However, other research revealed that of ten different Costa Rican pit viper venoms tested on mice, that of A. picadoi was the most hemorrhagic.[3]
[edit] Species
| Species[2] | Authority[2] | Subsp.*[2] | Common name | Geographic range[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. nummifer | Rüppell, 1845 | 2 | Jumping viper | Found in eastern Mexico from San Luis Potosí southeastward on the Atlantic versant and lowlands through northern Guatemala, southern Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to central Panama. On the Pacific versant in disjunct populations from southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. Found in various types of forest, including cloud forest and rain forest at 40-1600 m altitude. |
| A. olmec | Pérez-Higareda, Smith & Juliá-Zertuche, 1985 | 0 | Olmecan pit viper | Occurs in Mexico on the upper slopes of the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas in southern Veracruz. |
| A. picadoiT | Dunn, 1939 | 0 | Picado's pit viper | Found in the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama at 50-1500 m altitude. This includes the Cordillera de Tilarán, the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera de Talamanca. |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).
T) Type species.[1]
[edit] Cited references
- ^ a b c d 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).
- ^ a b c d Atropoides (TSN 585648). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 2 November 2006.
- ^ Warrell DA. 2004. Snakebites in Central and South America: Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Clinical Management. In 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.
[edit] External links
- Genus Atropoides at the EMBL Reptile Database
- Video: Austin shares his canteen with a jumping pit viper at Austin Stevens. Accessed 2 November 2006.
