Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi
| Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Viperidae |
| Subfamily: | Crotalinae |
| Genus: | Agkistrodon |
| Species: | A. bilineatus |
| Subspecies: | A. b. howardgloydi |
| Trinomial name | |
| Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi Conant, 1984[1] | |
- Common names: Castellana.[2]
Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi is a venomous pitviper subspecies[3] found in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Etymology
The subspecific name, howardgloydi, is in honor of American herpetologist Howard K. Gloyd.
Description
Of the ten specimens available to Gloyd and Conant (1990) from Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the largest male was 96 cm (37¼ inches) and the largest female 82 cm (32¼ inches) in length. Acceding to Villa (1984), adults in Nicaragua almost never exceed 135 cm (53⅛ inches) in length. In both sexes, the tail length is 19% of the total body length.[2]
Scalation includes 23 rows of keeled dorsal scales at midbody; 128-135 ventral scales; and 54-61 subcaudal scales, roughly half of which are paired, especially towards the tail tip.[2]
The dorsal color pattern consists of light to medium reddish brown ground color overlaid with 10-14/13-17 broad brown or brownish crossbands in males/females. Large adult males tend to be melanistic. Juveniles are more lightly colored, even to the point of being bright red. The head is clearly marked on either side with two longitudinal light lines: the upper one is narrow and broken or even absent posterior to the supraocular scale; while the lower one is wider and split into two parts which may or may not meet at the suture of the third supralabial scale.[2]
Geographic range
Found in the dry Pacific lowlands of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The type locality given is "0.8 km north Mirador el Cañon del Tigre, Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, Provincia Guanacaste, Costa Rica."[1]
See also
- List of crotaline species and subspecies
- Crotalinae by common name
- Crotalinae by taxonomic synonyms
- Snakebite
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 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).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Gloyd HK, Conant R. 1990. Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 614 pp. 52 plates. LCCN 89-50342. ISBN 0-916984-20-6.
- ↑ "Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
Further reading
- Conant, R. 1984. A new subspecies of the pit viper Agkistrodon bilineatus (Reptilia: Viperidae) from Central America. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 97: 135-141.
External links
- Agkistrodon bilineatus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 31 July 2008.