Bothrops neuwiedi

Bothrops neuwiedi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Subfamily:	Crotalinae
Genus:	Bothrops
Species:	B. neuwiedi
Binomial name
Bothrops neuwiedi Wagler, 1824
Synonyms
Bothrops Neuwiedi - Wagler, 1824 Bothrops neuwiedii - Wagler, 1824 Lachesis neuwiedii - Boulenger, 1896 Lachesis Neuwiedi - Berg, 1898 Bothrops neuwiedii neuwiedii - Amaral, 1925 Trimeresurus neuwiedii - Pope, 1944 Bothrops neuwiedi neuwiedi - Hoge, 1966[1]

Common names: Neuwied's lancehead,^[2] jararaca pintada.^[3]

Bothrops neuwiedi is a venomous pitviper species found in South America. This relatively small snake has a wide range and is a major source of snakebite in Argentina. It was named after German naturalist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied (1782-1867) who made important collections in Brazil (1815-1817).^[2] Twelve subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.^[4]

Description

Adults average 60-70 cm in length, but may grow to as much as 100 cm.^[2]

Head scalation includes 7-11 keeled intrasupraoculars (rarely 12 or as few as 5), 9-13 sublabials (usually 10-11) and 7-8 supralabials (rarely 7 or 10), the second of which is not fused with and usually separated from the prelacunal. Two rows of small scales usually separate the subocular and fourth supralabial. At midbody there are 22-29 (usually 25-27) rows of dorsal scales^[2] that are strongly keeled.^[3] The ventral scales number 158-179/164-185 in males/females, while the subcaudal scales are divided and number 39-56/34-51 in males/females.^[2]

The color pattern consists of a brown or dark-brown ground color overlaid with a series of 16-27 dark brown or black dorsolateral blotches. The blotches are edged in white and may be trapezoidal, triangular, subtriangular, or headphone-shaped and oppose each other middorsally. The belly is white or yellow with gray speckling. Juveniles have a white tail tip.^[2]

Geographic range

Found in South America east of the Andes and south of approx. 5° south, including Brazil (southern Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Bahia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, an isolated population in Amazonas, Rondônia and all southern states), Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina (Catamarca, Córdoba, Corrientes, Chaco, Entre Ríos, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán) and Uruguay. According to Vanzolini (1981), the type locality given is "provincia Bahiae" (Bahia province, Brazil).^[1]

Habitat

It inhabits tropical and semitropical deciduous forest, as well as temperate forest and Atlantic Coast restingas, and is associated with dry or semiarid rocky areas in almost all cases.^[2]

Venom

It is one of the main causes of snakebite in Argentina:^[3] between 1960 and 1975, according to Esteso (1985), 80% of the approximately 500 cases reported each year were attributed to B. n. diporus.^[5]

In a review of the symptoms in all 18 bite cases for this species admitted to the hospital in São Paulo between 1975 and 1992, Jorge and Ribeiro (2000) found that all suffered pain, 83% had swelling, 50% had bruising, 17% had necrosis, 12% developed coagulopathy and 5% had abscesses. In a case in Germany, a 36-year-old snake keeper was bitten on the finger and developed hemorrhagic "necrosis" of the afflicted digit and swelling that extended onto the hand. Five hours post-bite, his blood had a normal platelet count, but was incoagulable with a reduced fibrinogen concentration, elevated fibrin degradation products and D-dimer.^[5]

Three different antivenins, Soro Antibotropico-Crotalico, Soro Antibotropico-Laquetico and Soro Botropico, can be used to treat bites from this species. All three are manufactured by the Instituto Butantan in Brazil and contain specific antibodies to counteract the effects of the venom.^[6]

Subspecies

Subspecies[4]	Taxon author[4]	Common name[2]	Geographic range
B. n. bolivianus	Amaral, 1927
B. n. diporus	Cope, 1862	Chaco lancehead
B. n. goyazensis	Amaral, 1925
B. n. lutzi	(Miranda-Ribeiro, 1915)	Cerrado lancehead
B. n. mattogrossensis	Amaral, 1925	Mato Grosso lancehead
B. n. meridionalis	Müller, 1885
B. n. neuwiedi	Wagler, 1824	Neuwied's lancehead
B. n. paramanensis	Amaral, 1925
B. n. pauloensis	Amaral, 1925	Black-faced lancehead
B. n. piauhyensis	Amaral, 1925
B. n. pubescens	(Cope, 1870)	Pampas lancehead
B. n. urutu	Orejas-Miranda, 1970

Taxonomy

The twelve subspecies listed above were recognized by Peters and Orejas-Miranda (1970), Campbell and Lamar (1989) and Golay et al. (1993).^[1] A revision by Silva (2000) evelated seven taxa to full species: B. neuwiedi, B. diporus, B. lutzi, B. mattogrossensis, B. pauloensis, B. pubescens and one unnamed new species. In some cases, intergradation may occur. Together, these are referred to as the Bothrops neuwiedi complex.^[2]

See also

• List of crotaline species and subspecies
• Bothrops by common name
• Bothrops by taxonomic synonyms
• Snakebite

References

1. ^ ^{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).
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Silva VC da. 2004. The Bothrops neuwiedi complex. In 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. ^ ^{a b c} U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Bothrops neuwiedi". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=634876. Retrieved 24 July 2008. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Warrell DA. 2004. Snakebites in Central and South America: Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Clinical Management. In 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.
6. ^ Bothrops neuwiedi at Munich AntiVenom INdex (MAVIN). Accessed 24 July 2008.

External links

• Bothrops neuwiedi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 July 2008.