The Saint Lucia lancehead or Saint Lucia pit viper (''Bothrops caribbaeus'') is an
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
pit viper
The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . or pit adders, are a subfamily (biology), subfamily of Viperidae, vipers found in Asia and the ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the island of
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
in the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
.
[.]
Description
The Saint Lucia lancehead can reach a total length in excess of .
It is gray to gray-brown, with an irregular temporal stripe, and gray or brown markings that are distinct mid-dorsally and fade towards its sides.
Distribution and habitat
It is found only on Saint Lucia.
[ Along with '']Bothrops lanceolatus
''Bothrops lanceolatus'' — known as the ''fer-de-lance'', Martinican pit viper,Brown JH. 1973. ''Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes''. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. . and Martinique lan ...
'' and '' B. atrox'', it is one of three ''Bothrops'' species found in the Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. The snake is threatened and today limited to two areas of the island. The only location outside of St. Lucia where these snakes are kept is the Kentucky Reptile Zoo.
Venom
Accidents with this pit viper are extremely rare, with only one report. The victim had local pain and edema, and after a week had developed left facial hemiplegia with facial paralysis and local bleeding, extensive swelling, edema in the abdomen and chest, necrosis and cerebral ischemia.
References
Further reading
* Garman, S. 1887. On West Indian Reptiles in the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Cambridge, Mass.
Proc. American Philos. Soc. Philadelphia 24: 278–286. ("''Trigonocephalus caribbæus, sp n.''", p. 285.)
* Breach, K. (2009). Quantifying the Interactions Between Humans and Endemic Pit vipers (''Bothrops caribbaeus'') in Saint Lucia (MSc thesis, Imperial College London). http://www.iccs.org.uk/wp-content/thesis/consci/2009/Breach.docx
External links
Bothrops caribbaeus
at the Reptile Database
Bothrops
Snakes of the Caribbean
Reptiles of Saint Lucia
Endemic fauna of Saint Lucia
Reptiles described in 1887
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