Bothriechis nubestris

Bothriechis nubestris
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Bothriechis
Species:	B. nubestris
Binomial name
Bothriechis nubestris Doan, Mason, Castoe, Sasa & Parkinson, 2016

Bothriechis nubestris, the Talamancan palm-pitviper, is a species of pit viper native to cloud forests and montane rainforests in Costa Rica, specifically San José, Cartago and Limón.^[1][2][3] The snake was mistaken for Bothriechis nigroviridis.^[4]

Description

The snake is a small-medium size, slender snake. It lives in trees and has a green-black coloration. The snake grows up to 30 inches, but many grow less than 24 inches.^[5] It is only discovered in Costa Rica. The snake kills with a toxin which is likely to be nigroviriditoxin. The toxin itself was discovered in 2015, and B. nubestris would be the first new-world viperid outside of rattle snakes to produce it.^[3]

The snake lacks supercillary scales, differing the species from both B. schlegelii and B. supraciliaris. B. nubestris also differs from most other Bothriechis species with its colouring - only similar in that respect to B. nigroviridis, which it differs to in its scale numbers and shapes (specifically, B. nubestris has thin 'kidney-shaped' supraoculars.)^[3]

Discovery

The snake was first spotted by the University of Central Florida in 2001, but was mistaken for another species. It was discovered by DNA tests and named recently.

Etymology

'nubestris' means 'belonging to the clouds' as it is a combination of the latin noun nubes (meaning 'cloud') and the latin suffix '-estris' (meaning 'belonging to'). This is in reference to the cloud forests it generally lives near.^[2]

Reproduction

B. nubestris reproduce sexually and are ovoviviparous.^[2]

References

1. "Talamancan Palm-Pitviper: Cryptic New Species of Venomous Snake Identified in Costa Rica | Biology". Sci-News.com. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
2. "Bothriechis nubestris". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
3. Doan, Tiffany M.; Mason, Andrew J.; Castoe, Todd a.; Sasa, Mahmood; Parkinson, Christopher L. (2016-07-15). "A cryptic palm-pitviper species (Squamata: Viperidae: Bothriechis) from the Costa Rican highlands, with notes on the variation within B. nigroviridis". Zootaxa. 4138 (2). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4138.2.3. ISSN 1175-5334.
4. "New Speckled Venomous Snake Discovered in Cloud Forest". Live Science. Retrieved 2017-02-17.
5. "Talamancan Palm-Pit Viper: A New Species of Costa Rican Venomous Snake". reptilesmagazine.com. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-17.