Bothrops lanceolatus

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Bothrops lanceolatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Bothrops
Species: B. lanceolatus
Binomial name
Bothrops lanceolatus
(Bonnaterre, 1790)
Synonyms
  • Vipera Caerulescens
    Laurenti, 1768
  • [Coluber] glaucus Gmelin, 1788
  • C[oluber]. Lanceolatus
    Lacépède, 1789
  • C[oluber]. Brasiliensis
    Lacépède, 1789
  • C[oluber]. Tigrinus
    Lacépède, 1789
  • C[oluber]. lanceolatus
    – Bonaterre, 1790
  • C[oluber]. hastatus
    Suckow, 1798
  • Vipera lanceolata – Latreille
    In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801
  • Vipera brasiliniana Latreille
    In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801
  • Coluber Megaera Shaw, 1802
  • Vipera tigrina – Daudin, 1803
  • Vipera brasiliana Daudin, 1803
  • Trigonocephalus lanceolatus – Oppel, 1811
  • [Trigonocephalus] tigrinus
    – Oppel, 1811
  • [Cophias] lanceolatus
    – Merrem, 1820
  • Trigonoceph[alus]. lanceolatus – Schinz, 1822
  • Craspedocephalus lanceolatus – Fitzinger, 1826
  • [Bothrops] lanceolatus
    – Wagler, 1830
  • T[rigonocephalus]. lanceolatus – Schlegel, 1837
  • Bothrops cenereus Gray, 1842
  • C[rasedocephalus]. brasiliensis – Wucherer, 1863
  • Bothrops brasiliensis
    – Cope, 1875
  • Bothrops glaucus
    – Vaillant, 1887
  • Lachesis lanceolatus
    – Boulenger, 1896
  • Lachesis lanceolata
    – Boettger, 1898
  • Bothrops lanceolata
    – Hoge, 1953
  • Vipera coerulescens
    Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981
  • Bothrops l[anceolatus]. lanceolatus
    – Sandner-Montilla, 1990
  • Bothrops lanceolatus
    – Golay et al., 1993
  • Vipera coerulescens
    – Golay et al., 1993[1]
Common names: fer-de-lance, Martinican pit viper,[2] Martinique lancehead.[3]

Bothrops lanceolatus is a venomous pit viper species generally considered endemic to the island of Martinique. No one has satisfactorily explained why it has flourished there but is unknown on nearly all other Caribbean islands. Some reserve the common name fer-de-lance for this species, while others apply that name to other Bothrops species as well. No subspecies are currently recognized.[4]

Geographic range

Bothrops lanceolatus is generally considered endemic to the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles. However, the British Museum of Natural History has two specimens from Guadeloupe. The type locality according to Bonnaterre (1790:11) is "La Martinique".[1]

Vexillological trivia

The species is depicted on the unofficial flag of Martinique, one of the few examples (the Gadsden flag and the First Navy Jack of the United States, and the Flag of Mexico being others) of snakes being depicted on flags.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  2. ↑ Brown JH. 1973. Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "Bothrops lanceolatus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 November 2006. 

Further reading

  • Bonnaterre, J. 1790. Tableau encyclopédique et methodique des trois règnes de la nature, Ophiologie. Panckoucke. Paris. xliv + 76 pp. + plates A., 1.- 42. ("C[oluber]. Lanceolatus", p. 10.)

External links

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