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Lachesis stenophrys COPE, 1875

IUCN Red List - Lachesis stenophrys - Near Threatened, NT
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Central American bushmaster 
SynonymLachesis stenophrys COPE 1876: 152
Bothrops achrocordus GARCIA 1896: 22
Lachesis muta stenophrys — TAYLOR 1951: 184
Lachesis muta stenophrys — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 137
Lachesis muta stenophrys — WELCH 1994: 69
Lachesis stenophrys — ZAMUDIO & GREENE 1997
Lachesis stenophrys — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 313
Lachesis stenophrys — SAVAGE 2002
Lachesis stenophrys — WALLACH et al. 2014: 356
Lachesis stenophrys — SUNYER & MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA 2023 
DistributionNicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama

Type locality: Sipúrio, Costa Rica.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 32479, according to Cochran 1961:187 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Distinguished from L. melanocephala by having head that is predominantely unpigmented dorsally. Furthermore, L. stenophrys has fewer ventral scales (197–211 in females; 215–234 in males) than L. muta.


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CommentVenomous!

Bothrops achrocordus GARCIA 1896: 22 has been removed from the synonymy of Lachesis stenophrys and is now considered to be a valid species by several authors. 
EtymologyThe specific name stenophrys comes from the Greek stenos (= narrow) and ophrys (= brow), a reference to the small supraocular scales (Campbell and Lamar 2004). 
References
  • Barrio-Amorós, Cesar L.; Greivin Corrales, Sylvia Rodríguez , Jaime Culebras, Quetzal Dwyer, Diego Alejandro Flores 2020. The Bushmasters (Lachesis spp.): Queens of the rainforest. An overview of the taxonomy, distribution, natural history, lore, and conservation of the largest vipers in the world. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 27 (3): 358-381 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1875. On the Batrachia and Reptilia of Costa Rica with notes on the herpetology and ichthyology of Nicaragua and Peru. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia N.S. (2) 8: 93-183 [sometimes said to be published 1876 but see Murphy et al. 2007 for clarification]] - get paper here
  • Corrales, Greivin; Meidinger, Robert; Rodríguez, Santos; Chacon, Danilo; Gomez, Aaron 2014. Reproduction in captivity of the Central American bushmaster (Lachesis stenophrys, Serpentes: Viperidae), in Costa Rica. Cuad. Herpetol. 28: - get paper here
  • Cundall, D. 2009. Viper Fangs: Functional Limitations of Extreme Teeth. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology: Ecological and Evolutionary Approaches, 82(1), 63–79 - get paper here
  • Fernandes, D.S.; Franco, F.L. & Fernandes, R. 2004. Systematic revision of the genus Lachesis DAUDIN 1803 (Serpentes: Viperidae). Herpetologica 60 (2): 245-260 - get paper here
  • Fuentes, Rogemif; Aschcroft, Jesse; Erick Barría, Helio Quintero-Arrieta, Alexis Baules, Abel Batista, Eduardo Zambrano, Marcos Ponce 2023. Herpetological diversity in forests of Portobelo National Park, Colón Biological Corridor, Panama. Reptiles & Amphibians 30 (1): e18434 - get paper here
  • Henderson, C.L. 2010. Mammals, Amphibians, and Reptiles of Costa Rica - A field guide. University of Texas Press, Austin, 198 pp.
  • Hilje B, Chaves G, Klank J, Timmerman F, Feltham J, Gillingwater S, Piraino T, Rojas E 2020. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Tirimbina Biological Reserve: a baseline for conservation, research and environmental education in a lowland tropical wet forest in Costa Rica. Check List 16(6): 1633-1655 - get paper here
  • JUSTINEK, UWE 2020. Für 6 Tage auf Schlangensuche in Costa Rica. Ophidia 14 (1): 15-26
  • KANE, DANIEL; BENJAMIN TAPLEY, AMANDA GUTHRIE, SOPHIE SPARROW, STAMATIOS A. TAHAS & CHRISTOPHER J. MICHAELS. 2022. Herpetoculture Notes: A novel approach to sexing Lachesis stenophrys (Serpentes: Viperidae) using radiography. Herpetological Review 53 (1): 54–57.
  • KANE, DANIEL; BENJAMIN TAPLEY; CHESKA SERVINI; UNNAR KARL AEVARSSON; CHRISTOPHER J. MICHAELS 2021. Reproduction of Lachesis stenophrys (Central American Bushmaster) at ZSL London Zoo. Herpetological Review 52 (3): 564–566. - get paper here
  • Mata-Silva, V, DeSantis DL, García-Padilla E, Johnson JD, Wilson LD. 2019. The endemic herpetofauna of Central America: a casualty of anthropocentrism. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1) [General Section]: 1–64 (e168) - get paper here
  • McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Monzel, Markus & Wolfgang Wüster 2008. Neotropische Grubenottern – Evolution, Biogeographie und Ökologie. Draco 8 (33): 4-27 - get paper here
  • MURPHY R. W., SMITH A. and NGO A. 2007. The versions of Cope's Batrachia and Reptilia of Costa Rica. Bibliotheca Herpetologica 7 (1): - get paper here
  • Parkinson,C.L. 1999. Molecular systematics and biogeographical history of pitvipers as determined by mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences. Copeia 1999 (3): 576-586 - get paper here
  • Peters, James A.; Donoso-Barros, Roberto & Orejas-Miranda, Braulio 1970. Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata: Part I Snakes. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 297: 347 pp. - get paper here
  • Porras, L.W. & Solórzano, A. 2006. Die Schlangen Costa Ricas. Reptilia (Münster) 11 (61): 20-27 - get paper here
  • Porras, L.W. & Solórzano, A. 2006. Costa Rica’s venomous snakes. Reptilia (GB) (48): 11-17 - get paper here
  • Ray, Julie M. and Patty Ruback 2015. Updated checklists of snakes for the provinces of Panamá and Panamá Oeste, Republic of Panama. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (2): 168-188 - get paper here
  • Sasa, M., Arias, E., & Chaves, G. 2025. Annotated list of amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica: The role of the Museum of Zoology in cataloging the country’s herpetological diversity. Revista de Biología Tropical, 73(S2): e64536-e64536 - get paper here
  • Savage, J.M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna Between Two Continents, Between Two Seas. University of Chicago Press, 934 pp. [review in Copeia 2003 (1): 205]
  • Smith, Hobart M.;Langebartel, David A.;Williams, Kenneth L. 1964. Herpetological type-specimens in the University of Illinois Museum of Natural History. [type catalogue] Illinois Biological Monographs (32): 1-80 - get paper here
  • Solorzano, A. 2004. Serpientes de Costa Rica - Snakes of Costa Rica. Editorial INBio, Costa Rica, 792 pp.
  • Sunyer, Javier 2014. An updated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nicaragua. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1 (2): 186–202. - get paper here
  • Sunyer, Javier & José́ Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca 2023. An updated country checklist to the amphibians and reptiles of Nicaragua. REVISTA NICARAGÜENSE DE BIODIVERSIDAD (100): 1-25 - get paper here
  • Taylor,E.H. 1951. A brief review ot the snakes of Costa Rica. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 34 (1): 3-188 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Zamudio, KELLY R. & HARRY W. GREENE 1997. Phylogeography of the bushmaster (Lachesis muta: Viperidae): implications for neotropical biogeography, systematics, and conservation. Biol. J. Linnean Soc. 62 (3): 421-442 - get paper here
 
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