Raptic lance viper
| Raptic lance viper | ||||||||||||
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Raptic-tailed lance-viper ( Bothriechis schlegelii ) |
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| Bothriechis schlegelii | ||||||||||||
| ( Berthold , 1846) |
The prehensile-tailed lance viper ( Bothriechis schlegelii ), also known as the prehensile-tailed palm-lance viper or Schlegel's lance-viper , is a venomous snake from the viper family (Viperidae).
features
Reach-tailed lanceolers grow to be 60, sometimes just over 80 centimeters long. Females grow larger than males. They are of very variable color and can be green, olive green, blue, brown, yellow or yellow-brown. The underside is yellow or green. The green and yellow-brown specimens often have zigzag bands or a net-like pattern of reddish or brown spots over the base color. The head of the lance viper is clearly separated from the rest of the body and has a triangular shape. The eye has a perpendicular pupil. There are two to three horn-like scales above the eye. The animals are solenoglyph dentate; there are two long poisonous teeth in the upper jaw, which are folded back when the mouth is closed.
distribution
The pronged lance viper inhabits Central America , from central Mexico to Panama and the extreme northwest of South America in parts of Colombia , western Ecuador, and a small area in Venezuela . It lives on trees in the lowlands and in the mountains, in moist rainforests and plantations .
nutrition
They feed on mice, small birds, lizards and frogs.
Reproduction
The prehensile lance viper reproduces all year round. Like all species of the genus, it is viviparous ( Ovoviviparie ) and after a gestation of 4 to 5 months gives birth to 6 to 22 young snakes, which are 10 to 20 centimeters long at birth.
Systematics
The pronged lance viper is one of seven species of the palm lance viper ( Bothriechis ) and thus the American pit viper. Until a few years ago, the entire genus was assigned to the American lance otters ( Bothrops ). After the revision of the former large genus by Burger in 1971 and Steven D. Werman in 1992, it was assigned as a separate genus.
Within the palm lance viper, the prehensile-tailed lance viper is a very basal species that is regarded as a sister species of all other palm lance vipers:
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Toxicity
The prehensile lance viper is highly poisonous, does not warn of the poison bite, and strikes at distances of up to half a body length. The poison has tissue damaging and neurotoxic components. There are frequent accidents with workers in banana and other plantations, but most of them are not fatal. However, the poison is often underestimated in terrarium keeping and can lead to amputations and severe mutilation.
literature
- Brian I Crother, Jonathan A. Campbell, and David M. Mills: Phylogeny and Historical Biogeography of the Palm-Pitvipers Genus Bothriechis : Biochemicals and Morphological Evidence. In: Jonathan A. Campbell, Edmund D. Brodie Jr .: The Biology of the Pitvipers. Selva, Tyler (Texas) 1992; Pages 1-20. ISBN 0-9630537-0-1
- Ludwig Trutnau: Poisonous snakes, snakes in the terrarium, Volume 2 , 1998, Ulmer Verlag, ISBN 3-8001-7371-9
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Steven D. Werman: Phylogenitic Relationships of Central and South American Pitvipers of the Genus Bothrops (sensu lato): Cladistic Analyzes of Biochemical and Anatomical Characters. In: Jonathan A. Campbell, Edmund D. Brodie Jr .: The Biology of the Pitvipers. Selva, Tyler (Texas) 1992; Pp. 21-40, ISBN 0-9630537-0-1