Bothriechis bicolor

Common names: Guatemalan palm-pitviper.^[2]

Bothriechis bicolor is a venomous pitviper species found in southern Mexico and Guatemala. The specific name refers to the contrasting ventral and dorsal colors.^[2] No subspecies are currently recognized.^[3]

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Description

Adults are usually 60-70 cm in length, but may reach 100 cm, and the body is relatively slender.^[2]

The color pattern consists of a green or bluish green ground color. Usually this is without any pattern, but sometimes specimens from Mexico have black flecks and dots and/or blue blotches. The dorsum of the head is a uniform green without any postocular stripe. The interstitial skin is often blue, which can also be true for the borders of some scales. The belly has a somewhat lighter color, usually a uniform yellowish-green.^[2]

Geographic range

Found along the Pacific versant from southeastern Chiapas in Mexico, east to south-central Guatemala. Also known from a few locations in Honduras in the southern part of the Sierre de Merendón and the Cerro Santa Bárbara. The type locality given is "Des forêts de Saint-Augustine, département de Solola (Guatémala), sur le versant occidental de la Cordillèra. 610 mètres d'altitude" [= Forests of St. [San] Augustín, on western slope of Cordillera, Departamento de Sololá, Guatemala, 610 m]. In actual fact, San Augustín is on the southern slope of of Volcán Atitlán.^[1]

Habitat

Prefers rain forests and cloud forests between 500 and 2,000 m elevation.^[1]

Conservation status

This species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).^[4] Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend is stable. Year assessed: 2007.^[5]

See also

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

References