Bothrocophias colombianus (RENDAHL & VESTERGREN, 1940)
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Bothrocophias colombianus
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| Higher Taxa | Viperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Colombian Lancehead, Munchique's Rufous Lancehead S: Equis Colorada de Munchique S: Equis Gata, Equis Amarilla del Valle del Cauca [rhombeatus] E: Cat Lancehead, Cauca Valley Yellow Lancehead [rhombeatus] |
| Synonym | Botrops rhomboatus [sic] GARCIA 1896: 20 (nomen dubium) Botrops rhombeatus — GARCIA 1896: 20 (plate 2) Bothrops microphthalmus colombianus RENDAHL & VESTERGREN 1940: 15 Trimeresurus microphthalmus — SCHMIDT & WALKER 1943 Bothrops microphthalmus colombianus — PETERS et al. 1970: 49 Porthidium colombianum — GOLAY et al. 1993: 84 Bothrops microphthalmus colombianus — WELCH 1994: 33 Bothrops colombianus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 260 Bothrocophias colombianus — CAMPBELL & LAMAR 2004 Bothrocophias colombianus — CASTRO et al. 2005 Bothrops rhombeatus — FOLLECO-FERNANDEZ 2010 Bothrocophias colombianus — CARRASCO et al. 2012 Bothrops rhombeatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 119 Bothrocophias colombianus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 113 |
| Distribution | W Colombia (incl. Cauca), elevation 1400-2300 m Type locality: La Costa, Cauca, Colombia rhombeatus: Colombia (Valle del Cauca); Type locality: "a orillas de los rios afluentes del Cauca." |
| Reproduction | ovovivparous |
| Types | Holotype: NRM (NHRM) 23114. Holotype: undesignated, none given by GARCIA 1896 [rhombeatus]ts of about 16-19 triangles on the sides of the body with paler gray or gray-brown centers, their apices opposite or juxtaposed on the middorsum of the body. These triangular markings become most prominent posteriorly. The upper sides of each triangle are medium to dark brown, edged dorsally with black, followed by a narrow whitish to pale gray border. The dark pigment along the periphery of these markings is expanded at the lower corners of the triangle, forming rounded dark brown or blackish blotches; another small dark blotch usually is present about midway between these blotches along the ventral side of the triangle. The dark body markings are more broadly outlined in dark brown pigment on the posterior part of the body, and the paler center may be entirely obfuscated on the tail. A series of small black blotches is present on the lateral edges of the ventrals and scale rows 1-2. These ventrolateral blotches are edged with white and the scales between blotches are pale, usually having a suffusion of pink or salmon. The pale edging of the ventrolateral blotches becomes more conspicuous on the posterior of the body, forming a ventrolateral white line along the lateral edges of the subcaudals that is connected with a series of transverse white lines that extend to the middorsum of the tail and are usually slightly staggered on either side of the tail. In gray or dark brown juveniles, subadults, and some adults the distal portion of the tail is bright yellow with transverse whitish, chainlike markings; in reddish brown specimens the distal portion of the tail is dark brown or black with transverse whitish markings. The venter of the head is heavily mottled with brown, with distinctive pale spots on the gulars and pale bars or spots on many of the infralabials. The belly is mottled heavily with dark brown pigment, with the pale interspaces between the ventrolateral blotches encroaching on the lateral edges of the ventrals, often increasing posteriorly. The subcaudals are paler than the belly, usually being cream or pale yellow with a sparse peppering of brown. Juvenile males are dark with a yellow tail; juvenile females are an overall reddish color. The snout is blunt. There are 6-10 keeled intersupraoculars; 8-9 supralabials, the second separated from the loreal pit; 10 infralabials; 25 midbody dorsals with tuberculate keels; 162 ventrals in the single male examined and 166-173 ventrals in females (see Table 35). The single male that we have seen had 54 divided subcaudals but the very tip of the tail was missing, representing perhaps another 2-3 subcaudals; females have 51-53 subcaudals. (Campbell & Lamar 2004: 329) |
| Diagnosis | Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (4728 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Venomous! Phylogenetics: FENWICK et al. 2009 expect that B. colombianus is part of the Bothrocophias clade based on external morphology, although limited sampling did not allow them to include it in the phylogeny. Synonymy: McDiarmid et al. 1999 placed Botrops rhomboatus “tentatively” in the synonymy of B. colombianus. FOLLECO-FERNANDEZ 2010 revalidated Bothrops rhombeatus GARCIA 1896, but Ramírez-Chaves & Solari 2014 declared the name unavailable, based on the lack of a type specimen and its uncertain status, and suspect that it may be a synonym of B. asper. B. rhombeatus nested within several clades of B. asper in a phylogenomic study by Salazar‐Valenzuela et al. 2019. However, they did not propose any taxonomic changes. Distribution: See map in FOLLECO-FERNANDEZ 2010. Reports from ANTIOQUIA (Nicéforo María, 1975) most likely represent individual introductions from Cauca to Antioquia (Luis E Vera Pérez, pers. comm. 7 May 2013). |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality. |
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