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Porthidium



Porthidium

Lansberg's hognosed pitviper, P. lansbergii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Porthidium
Cope, 1871
Synonyms
  • Porthidium - Cope, 1871[1]
Common names: hognosed pitvipers.[2]

Porthidium is a genus of venomous pitvipers found in Mexico and southward to northern South America.[1] The name is derived from the Greek words portheo and the suffix -idus, which means "destroy" and "having the nature of"; apparently a reference to the venom.[2] Seven species are currently recognized.[3]

Contents

Description

This is a groups of group of small species, adults ranging in size from 55 cm (P. dunni and P. yucatanicum) to 75 cm in length (P. lansbergii and P. ophryomegas). In addition, the body shape ranges from relatively slender (P. ophryomegas) to relatively stout (P. nasutum). All have a sharply defined canthus rostralis and a rostral scale that is higher than it is broad. The tip of the snout may slightly to moderately elevated (P. hespere, P. lansbergii, P. ophryomegas and P. volcanicum), strongly elevated (P. dunni and P. yucatanicum), or not elevated at all.[2]

All species have a color pattern that usually consists of brown or gray color overlaid with a series of dark paraventral blotches that are separates by a pale and narrow vertebral stripe. The blotches are square, rectangular or triangular in shape. With some species, the color pattern is determined by the sex.[2]

Geographic range

Found in Mexico (Colima, Oaxaca and Chiapas on the Pacific side, the Yucatan Peninsula on the Atlantic side) southward through Central America to northern South America (Ecuador in the Pacific lowlands, northern Venezuela in the Atlantic lowlands).[1]

Species

Species[3] Authority[3] Subsp.*[3] Common name[2] Geographic range[1]
P. dunni (Hartweg & Oliver, 1938) 0 Dunn's hognosed pitviper Southern Mexico in the Pacific lowlands of Oaxaca and western Chiapas.
P. hespere (Campbell, 1976) 0 Colima hognosed pitviper Western Mexico (Colima).
P. lansbergii (Schlegel, 1841) 3 Lansberg's hognosed pitviper Extreme eastern Central America in the xeric coastal lowlands of central and eastern Panama. In northern South America in the Atlantic lowlands of Colombia and northern Venezuela, as well as the Pacific lowlands of Ecuador.
P. nasutumT (Bocourt, 1868) 0 Rainforest hognosed pitviper Southern Mexico southward through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador in South America. Inhabits the Atlantic lowlands from Mexico (Tabasco and Chiapas) through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia. In the Pacific lowlands, it occurs in southwestern Costa Rica, central and eastern Panama, continuing on to northwestern Ecuador. It is found in mesic lowland broadleaf or rainforest from sea level to elevation of about 900 m.
P. ophryomegas (Bocourt, 1869) 0 Slender hognosed pitviper Central America in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
P. volcanicum Solorzano, 1995 0 Ujarran hognosed pitviper Volcán de Buenos Aires and Valle del General in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica.
P. yucatanicum (Smith, 1941) 0 Yucatán hognosed pitviper Northern half of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).
T) Type species.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 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 d Porthidium (TSN 585667). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 4 November 2006.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Porthidium". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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