Bothrops lanceolatus
| Bothrops lanceolatus | |
|---|---|
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| Taxidermied museum exhibit | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Viperidae |
| Genus: | Bothrops |
| Species: | B. lanceolatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Bothrops lanceolatus (Bonnaterre, 1790)
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| Synonyms | |
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Bothrops lanceolatus — known as the fer-de-lance, Martinican pit viper,[2] and Martinique lancehead[3] — is a species of pit viper 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".<ref name="McD99"/
Description
It measures 1.50 to 2 m long. (5 Feet long) It's color is brown, black and gray
Behavior
As ambush predators, Martinique lancehead typically wait patiently somewhere for unsuspecting prey to wander by. At least one species, the arboreal is known to select a specific ambush site and return to it every year in time for the spring migration of birds. Studies have indicated these snakes learn to improve their strike accuracy over time.[10] At daytime or nightime they could be aggressive.
Diet
like All of the various species are carnivorous, and eat other animals. Their diet primarily changes based on how large the snake is and where the snake lives. Larger individuals can feed on larger prey, while smaller species must eat smaller foodstuffs.
Martinican pit vipers hunts include rats, mice, birds, rabbits, lizards, frogs, snakes, bats, and more.
Reproduction
With few exceptions, crotalines are ovoviviparous, meaning that the embryos develop within eggs that remain inside the mother's body until the offspring are ready to hatch, at which time the hatchlings emerge as functionally free-living young. In such species the eggshells are reduced to soft membranes that the young shed, either within the reproductive tract, or immediately after emerging.
Venom
The venom has toxins that can cause clotting, and bleeding in humans, as well as muscle damage and swelling.
Taxonomy
Martinican pit vipers are part of a subfamily of the Viperidae and the Bothrops.
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.
References
- ^ 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).
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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
Data related to Bothrops lanceolatus at Wikispecies- Bothrops lanceolatus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 6 December 2007.
