Bothrops pirajai

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Bothrops pirajai
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Bothrops
Species: B. pirajai
Binomial name
Bothrops pirajai
Amaral, 1923
Synonyms
  • Bothrops pirajai - Amaral, 1923
  • Bothrops neglecta - Amaral, 1923
  • Bothrops pirajai - Peters & Orejas-Miranda, 1970[1]
Common names: Piraja's lancehead.[2]

Bothrops pirajai is a venomous pitviper species found in Brazil. No subspecies are currently recognized.[3]

Contents

[edit] Description

The maximum length recorded for this species is 137 cm. It is stocky and terrestrial.[2]

[edit] Geographic range

Found in Brazil in central and southern Bahia. Possibly, it may also occur in Minas Gerais. The type locality given is "Ilheos, Bahia, Brazil."[1]

[edit] Conservation status

This species is classified as vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List for the following criteria: A1c (v2.3, 1994).[4] This means that it is not Critically Endangered or Endangered, but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future due to population reduction in the form of an observed, estimated, inferred or suspected reduction of at least 20% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat. The population trend is down. Year assessed: 2000.[5]

The rainforest inhabited by this species is unfortunately decreasing in area and quality, while becoming increasingly fragmented through deforestation. The areas that have been cleared are mainly being used for cocoa plantations.[4]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b 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).
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ Bothrops pirajai (TSN 634878). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 3 August 2007.
  4. ^ a b Bothrops pirajai at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 2 September 2007.
  5. ^ 1994 Categories & Criteria (version 2.3) at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 2 September 2007.

[edit] External links