Bothriechis bicolor
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| Bothriechis bicolor (Bocourt, 1868) |
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- Common names: Guatemalan palm-pitviper.[2]
Bothriechis bicolor is a venomous pitviper species found in southern Mexico and Guatemala. The specific name refers to the contrasting ventral and dorsal colors.[2] No subspecies are currently recognized.[3]
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[edit] Description
Adults are usually 60-70 cm in length, but may reach 100 cm, and the body is relatively slender.[2]
The color pattern consists of a green or bluish green ground color. Usually this is without any pattern, but sometimes specimens from Mexico have black flecks and dots and/or blue blotches. The dorsum of the head is a uniform green without any postocular stripe. The interstitial skin is often blue, which can also be true for the borders of some scales. The belly has a somewhat lighter color, usually a uniform yellowish-green.[2]
[edit] Geographic range
Found along the Pacific versant from southeastern Chiapas in Mexico, east to south-central Guatemala. Also known from a few locations in Honduras in the southern part of the Sierre de Merendón and the Cerro Santa Bárbara. The type locality given is "Des forêts de Saint-Augustine, département de Solola (Guatémala), sur le versant occidental de la Cordillèra. 610 mètres d'altitude" [= Forests of St. [San] Augustín, on western slope of Cordillera, Departamento de Sololá, Guatemala, 610 m]. In actual fact, San Augustín is on the southern slope of of Volcán Atitlán.[1]
[edit] Habitat
Prefers rain forests and cloud forests between 500 and 2,000 m elevation.[1]
[edit] Conservation status
This species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).[4] Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend is stable. Year assessed: 2007.[5]
[edit] See also
- List of crotaline species and subspecies
- Crotalinae by common name
- Crotalinae by taxonomic synonyms
- Snakebite
[edit] References
- ^ a b c 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 Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.
- ^ Bothriechis bicolor (TSN 585766). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 8 September 2007.
- ^ Bothriechis bicolor at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 14 September 2007.
- ^ 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1) at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 14 September 2007.
[edit] External links
- Bothriechis bicolor at the TIGR Reptile Database. Accessed 8 September 2007.
- Bothriechis bicolor at Greg Lasley Nature Photography. Accessed 8 September 2007.
