Bothrops pirajai

Bothrops pirajai is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Brazil. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.[4]

Bothrops pirajai
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Bothrops
Species:
B. pirajai
Binomial name
Bothrops pirajai
Amaral, 1923
Synonyms[2]
  • Bothrops pirajai
    Amaral, 1923
  • Bothrops neglecta
    Amaral, 1923
  • Bothrops pirajai
    — J. Peters & Orejas-Miranda, 1970
Common names: Piraja's lancehead.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, pirajai, is in honor of Brazilian parasitologist Pirajá da Silva, who in 1923 was director of the Bahia branch of the Instituto Butantan.[5][6]

Description

The maximum total length (including tail) recorded for B. pirajai is 137 cm (54 in). It is stocky and terrestrial.[3]

Geographic range

Bothrops pirajai is found in Brazil in central and southern Bahia. Possibly, it may also occur in Minas Gerais. The type locality given is "Ilheos, Bahia, Brazil".[2]

Conservation status

The species B. pirajai is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List for the following criteria: A1c (v2.3, 1994).[1] This means that it is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future due to population reduction in the form of an observed, estimated, inferred or suspected reduction of at least 20% over the last 10 years or three generations, whichever is the longer, based on a decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat.

The rainforest inhabited by this species is unfortunately decreasing in area and quality, while becoming increasingly fragmented through deforestation. The areas that have been cleared are mainly being used for cocoa plantations.[1]

References
  1. Silveira, A.L., Prudente, A.L. da C., Argôlo , A.J.S., Abrahão, C.R., Nogueira, C. de C., Barbo, F.E., Costa, G.C., Pontes, G.M.F., Colli, G.R., Zaher, H. el D., Borges-Martins, M., Martins, M.R.C., Oliveira , M.E., Passos, P.G.H., Bérnils, R.S., Sawaya, R.J., Cechin, C.T.Z & Guedes da Costa, T.B. (2021). "Bothrops pirajai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T39902A123738159. Retrieved 15 November 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
  3. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp., 1,500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.
  4. "Bothrops pirajai". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  5. Amaral. 1923. p. 100.
  6. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Bothrops pirajai, p. 208).

Further reading
  • Amaral A (1923). "New Genera and Species of Snakes". Proceedings of the New England Zoölogical Club 8: 85-105. (Bothrops pirajai, new species, pp. 99–100).


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