Brazilian lance viper
| Brazilian lance viper | ||||||||||||
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Brazilian lance viper ( Bothrops moojeni ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Bothrops moojeni | ||||||||||||
| Hoge , 1966 |
The Brazilian Pitviper ( Bothrops moojeni ) is a viper from the subfamily of the pit vipers and belongs to the genus of American Terciopelos ( Bothrops ). Sometimes she is referred to as a caissaca . In English it bears the common name "Brazilian Lancehead".
features
Bothrops moojeni reaches a total length of 120 to 150 cm. The head is angular, elongated, triangular in shape when viewed from above and clearly set off from the neck. The head of females is larger than that of males. The eye has a pupil that is vertically slit when exposed to light. The basic color of the body varies between light brown, dark brown or gray. The sides of the body are marked by trapezoidal spots. These spots can be fused together across the middle of the back. The spot pattern is lined with light brown. A narrow postocular strip runs between the eye and the corner of the mouth and ends in a semicircle at the corner of the mouth. The ventral side is light and cream-colored and sometimes indistinctly spotted. Young animals with a strikingly white tip of their tail usually have a white neck. The venom apparatus consists of venom glands located on the side of the skull (specialized salivary glands ) and movable fangs located in the anterior upper jaw ( solenoglyph tooth position).
Pholidosis
The pholidosis (scaling) shows the following characteristics:
- 7 upper lip shields ( supralabials ),
- 23 to 29 (in males mostly 25, in females mostly 27) rows of keeled trunk scales ( Scuta dorsalia ),
- 182 to 197 (males) and 187 to 210 (females) ventral shields ( Scuta ventralia ) and
- 57 to 70 (males) or 51 to 66 (females) under- tail shields ( Scuta subcaudalia ).
Systematics
The first description of Bothrops moujeni was made in 1966 by the Brazilian herpetologists Alphonse Richard Hoge . The status of the species and the taxonomic relationship to Bothrops atrox (common lance viper) is currently (as of 2018) unclear. It must be clarified whether Bothrops moojeni and Bothrops atrox are actually different species. There are no subspecies of Bothrops moojeni .
distribution
The distribution area includes areas within South America in Brazil ( Piauí , Paraná , São Paulo , Mato Grosso , Mato Grosso do Sul , Minas Gerais , Goiás , Maranhão , Bahia ), Bolivia (east), Paraguay and Argentina ( Misiones ). The populated biotopes include humid habitats in savannah areas such as the Brazilian cerrados , gallery forests and similar habitats. The sites are mostly located near the water. The species is sometimes found in human settlements.
Way of life
Bothrops moojeni leads a largely ground-dwelling and twilight to nocturnal way of life. Tree stumps, wood, rotting branches, roots, termite mounds or animal structures can serve as hiding places. During the rainy season, between December and March, flood plains are avoided. The range of prey includes small mammals such as rodents, birds, frogs and lizards. The mating season extends mainly from October to February. The gestation period is around 200 days. Bothrops moojeni reproduces through ovoviviparity , i.e. egg- bearing life. A litter can contain 7 to 35 juvenile snakes. The young animals measure 28 to 30 cm at birth and weigh about 10 g.
Snake venom
When an adult specimen is poisoned, approximately 248.0 mg (dry weight) of poisonous secretions are released .
ingredients
The toxin mixture of Bothrops moojeni , like that of most pit vipers , has a complex composition. Notable pharmacologically active components include:
- Procoagulants: Substances which, by activating hemostasis, influence the blood's ability to clot.
- Systemically active myotoxins (various phospholipase A2 homologs): damage muscle tissue ; secondary damage to the kidneys possible.
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Phospholipase A2 enzymes
- Basic phospholipase A2 BmTX-I: interacts with interleukin-6 , inhibits in vitro the neuromuscular transmission of stimuli and results in animal studies for necrosis of muscle tissue. The substance also provokes inflammatory reactions and edema .
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Zinc metalloproteases : have different substrates or points of attack and lead, among other things, to tissue damage including damage to the blood vessel walls.
- Snake venom metalloproteinase BmooMPalpha-I: interacts with fibrinogen , leads to defibrinogenation in animal experiments and has a proteolytic effect on azocasein . Without hemorrhagic or thrombin-like effects and free of phospholipase A2 activity.
- Venom vasodilator peptide, 1370.6 Da : peptide with vasodilator effect (animal experiment, mouse / rat).
toxicology
Bite accidents with Bothrops moojeni are potentially life-threatening and should be treated as medical emergencies. Local swelling , blistering , necrosis , coagulopathy and bleeding are significant symptoms of poisoning after a poison bite . Death can occur in shock from circulatory failure . Various antivenins , such as 'Polyvalent Antivenom' (Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Costa Rica) or 'Soro antibotropico-laquetico' ( Instituto Butantan , Brazil), are available for therapy. With adequate medical treatment, lethality is low.
literature
- Ludwig Trutnau: Snakes in the Terrarium Vol. 2: Poisonous snakes. Verlag Ulmer, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-8001-7052-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bothrops moojeni in The Reptile Database (accessed July 10, 2018).
- ↑ a b c d e University of Adelaide, Clinical Toxinology Resources: Bothrops moojeni (accessed July 10, 2018).
- ↑ UniProt: Basic phospholipase A2 homolog 1 (accessed on July 10, 2018).
- ↑ UniProt: Basic phospholipase A2 BmTX-I (accessed on July 10, 2018).
- ↑ UniProt: Snake venom metalloproteinase BmooMPalpha-I (accessed July 10, 2018).
- ↑ UniProt: 1370.6 Da venom vasodilator peptide (accessed July 10, 2018).