Venezuela lance viper
| Venezuela lance viper | ||||||||||||
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Venezuela lance viper ( Bothrops venezuelensis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Bothrops venezuelensis | ||||||||||||
| Sandner-Montilla , 1952 |
The Venezuela lance viper ( Bothrops venezuelensis ) is a South American pit viper from the genus of the lance viper ( Bothrops ).
features
The Venezuela lance viper has a slim but strong build and reaches a maximum total length of 167 cm, but usually remains smaller. The dorsal body scales ( scutum dorsale ) are keeled. The head is flat, triangular and shaped like a lance when viewed from above and set off from the neck. The tip of the snout is not raised. The eyes are medium-sized and the pupil is vertically elliptical when exposed to light. There is a dark band between the eye and the corner of the mouth. The basic color is variable, there are greenish and gray-brownish specimens. Dorsally, darker cross bars appear, along the sides a row of dark spots can be seen.
Bothrops venezuelensis has the poisonous apparatus typical of vipers (Viperidae). It consists of poison glands , which are located on the side of the skull and are represented by reshaped salivary glands, which are connected to the poison or fangs. These are located in the front upper jaw, are folded in when the mouth is closed and are set up when biting (solenoglyph tooth position). The poison fangs are constructed like tubes and allow the poison secretion to be injected.
Way of life
The Venezuela lance viper leads a predominantly nocturnal, terrestrial way of life, but occasionally climbs in the branches of smaller shrubs or trees. The prey spectrum of the species includes smaller vertebrates , such as small mammals , birds , lizards and amphibians . Bothrops venezuelensis is ovoviviparous , so it reproduces viviparously.
toxicology
Pit vipers have extremely complex mixtures of toxins . Little information is available on the poison secretion of Bothrops venezuelensis, and there are hardly any clinical reports. It can be assumed that the chemical structure and pharmacological properties of the toxins are related to the toxins of other Bothrops species. The influence (suppression) of the hemostasis in vitro suggests the presence of procoagulants, which can lead to consumption coagulopathy due to the depletion of coagulation factors . It also presumably contains cytolytically active enzymes .
Poison bites are considered to be potentially life-threatening. As a result of intoxication , local effects such as pain , edema and, in the further course, necrosis occur initially . Systemically, in addition to nonspecific general symptoms (e.g. nausea , vomiting , headache , abdominal pain ), hemorrhages caused by coagulopathy may occur . Shock , allergy and secondary kidney damage cannot be excluded as complications . The bite site should not be tied with a pressure bandage , as blood stasis may increase local toxicity (necrosis). Various polyvalent antivenins are available.
distribution
The distribution area is in northern Venezuela and parts of eastern Colombia (Norte de Santander, Boyacá ). Montane mountain and cloud forests primarily serve as natural habitats.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Clinical Toxinology Resources, University of Adelaide: B. venezuelensis (accessed October 17, 2016)
literature
- Wallach & Williams: Snakes of the World: A Catalog of Living and Extinct Species , Apple Academic Press Inc., 2014.
- Bücherl & Buckley: Venomous Animals and Their Venoms: Venomous Vertebrates , 1971.
