Lachesis muta
Lachesis muta | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Viperidae |
Genus: | Lachesis |
Species: | L. muta
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Binomial name | |
Lachesis muta (Linnaeus, 1766)
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Synonyms[2] | |
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Lachesis muta, also known as the Southern American bushmaster or Atlantic bushmaster,
Taxonomy
Two additional subspecies, L. m. melanocephala and L. m. stenophrys, had earlier been recognized. However, both were elevated to species level by Zamudio and Green in 1997 (see L. melanocephala and L. stenophrys).[2]
Subspecies
Subspecies[4] | Taxon author[4] | Common name | Geographic range[2] |
---|---|---|---|
Lachesis muta muta | (Linnaeus, 1766) | South American bushmaster | Southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, Peru, northern Bolivia, eastern and southern Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and much of northern Brazil |
Lachesis muta rhombeata | (Wied-Neuwied, 1824) | Atlantic Forest bushmaster | Coastal forests of southeastern Brazil (from southern Rio Grande do Norte to Rio de Janeiro). |
Description
Adults grow to an average of 2 to 2.5 m (6½-8 feet), although 3 m (10 feet) is not too unusual. The largest recorded specimen was 3.65 m (almost 12 feet) long, making the species the largest of all
The head is broad and distinct from the narrow neck. The snout is broadly rounded. There is no
The body is cylindrical, tapered and moderately stout. Midbody there are 31-37 nonoblique rows of
The color pattern consists of a yellowish, reddish or grey-brown ground color, overlaid with a series of dark brown or black dorsal blotches that form lateral inverted triangles of the same color. The lateral pattern may be precisely or indistinctly defined, normally pale at the center.[5]
Venom
Some reports suggest that this species produces a large amount of venom that is weak compared to some other vipers.[8] Others, however, suggest that such conclusions are not accurate. These animals are badly affected by stress and rarely live long in captivity. This makes it difficult to obtain venom in useful quantities and good condition for study purposes. For example, Bolaños (1972) observed that venom yield from his specimens fell from 233 mg to 64 mg while they remained in his care. As the stress of being milked regularly has this effect on venom yield, it is reasoned that it may also affect venom toxicity. This may explain the disparity described by Hardy and Haad (1998) between the low laboratory toxicity of the venom and the high mortality rate of bite victims.[9]
Brown (1973) gives the following
Etymology
Common names
Known as the mapepire zanana or mapepire grande (pronounced ma-pa(y)-PEE za-Na-na or ma-pa(Y)-PEE GRAN-dey) in Trinidad,
It is called ĩtsãi in the Kwaza language of Rondônia, Brazil.[19]
In the
Distribution and habitat
L. muta is found in South America in the equatorial forests east of the
Diet
Bushmasters prey primarily on rats and mice. Birds and reptiles may occasionally be eaten. Spiny rats are favored prey items in Costa Rica.[22] Rice rats and agoutis are other favored prey.[23][24] Other prey items include porcupines, squirrels, opossums, squirrel monkeys, and frogs.[24]
References
- ^ Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, P., Rivas, G., Caicedo, J.R., Ouboter, P., Hoogmoed, M.S. & Murphy, J. 2021. Lachesis muta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T62254A44946798. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T62254A44946798.en. Accessed on 16 January 2023.
- ^ ISBN 1-893777-01-4(volume).
- ^ Lang, Kirsty (6 October 2013). "Trying to save the heat-seeking Atlantic bushmaster". BBC News. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ a b c "Lachesis muta". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
- ^ ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
- ^ ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
- ^ Allf, B. C., Durst, P. A., & Pfennig, D. W. (2016). Behavioral plasticity and the origins of novelty: the evolution of the rattlesnake rattle. The American Naturalist, 188(4), 475-483.
- ^ Lachesis muta, The Silent Fate at South American Pictures. Accessed 26 October 2006.
- ^ Ripa D (2001). "Bushmasters and the Heat Strike" at VenomousReptiles.org Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 26 October 2006.
- ISBN 0-398-02808-7.
- PMID 11340447.
- ISSN 0037-8682.
- ^ Rodrigo C. G. de Souza; Ana Paula Bhering Nogueira; Tiago Lima; João Luiz C. Cardoso (2007). "The Enigma of the North Margin of the Amazon River : Proven Lachesis Bites in Brazil, Report of Two Cases, General Considerations about the Genus and Bibliographic Review" (PDF). Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 42 (7): 105–115. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ Rodrigo (2 January 2011). "Núcleo Serra Grande: Sobre o tamanho (verdadeiro) de Lachesis". Núcleo Serra Grande. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ISBN 0-7137-1704-1.
- ^ Mendes, John (1986). Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary. Arima, Trinidad. p. 95.
- ^ a b "List of Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago" Archived 2006-08-08 at the Wayback Machine at Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Biodiversity Clearing House Archived 2012-12-21 at archive.today. Accessed 25 October 2006.
- ^ Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004).
- ^ Manso, Laura Vicuña Pereira. 2013. Dicionário da língua Kwazá. M.A. dissertation. Guajará-Mirim: Federal University of Rondônia.
- ^ Rojas-Berscia, Luis Miguel. 2019. From Kawapanan to Shawi: Topics in language variation and change. Doctoral dissertation, Radboud University Nijmegen.
- ^ Herklots GAC (1961). The Birds of Trinidad and Tobago. London: Collins. p. 10.
- ^ Adams, Ashely. "Lachesis muta (South American Bushmaster)". Animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ "Lachesis muta (Bushmaster or Mapepire Zanana)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Amazonian Bushmaster (Lachesis muta)".
Further reading
- Bolaños R (1972). "Toxicity of Costa Rican snake venoms for the white mouse". American Jour. Trop. Med. Hyg. 21: 360–363.
- Hardy DL Sr, Haad JJS (1998). "A review of venom toxinology and epidemiology of envenoming of the bushmaster (Lachesis) with report of a fatal bite". Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 33(6): 113–123.
- Linnaeus C (1766). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Duodecima, Reformata [Part 1. Twelfth Edition, Revised]. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 532 pp. (Crotalus mutus, new species, p. 373). (in Latin).
- ISBN 0-691-12436-1.
- Zamudio KR, Greene HW (1997). "Phylogeography of the bushmaster (Lachesis muta: Viperidae): implications for neotropical biogeography, systematics and conservation". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 62: 421–442. PDF at Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Accessed 26 October 2006.
External links
- Lachesis muta at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 12 December 2007.
- Ripa Ecologica. Accessed 26 October 2006.