Bothrops lanceolatus, Martinican pit viper, Martinique lancehead
Bothrops lanceolatus — known as the fer-de-lance, Martinican pit viper, and Martinique lancehead — is a species of pit viper generally considered endemic to the Caribbean island of Martinique. Some reserve the common name fer-de-lance for this species, while others apply that name to other Bothrops species as well. No subspecies are currently recognized.
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
Ambush predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey by stealth, luring, or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an elemen...
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous an...
Venom is a type of poison, especially one secreted by an animal. It is delivered in a bite, sting, or similar action. Venom has evolved in terrestr...
Animal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withIt measures 1.50 to 2 m long (5 feet long). Its color is brown, black and gray.
Bothrops lanceolatus is generally considered endemic to the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles. However, the British Museum of Natural History has two specimens from Guadeloupe. The type locality according to Bonnaterre (1790:11) is "La Martinique".
As ambush predators, Martinique lancehead typically wait patiently somewhere for unsuspecting prey to wander by. At least one species, the arboreal, is known to select a specific ambush site and return to it every year in time for the spring migration of birds. Studies have indicated these snakes learn to improve their strike accuracy over time. At daytime or nighttime they could be aggressive.
The venom has toxins that can cause clotting, and bleeding in humans, as well as muscle damage and swelling.
All of the various species are carnivorous, and eat other animals. Their diet primarily changes based on how large the snake is and where the snake lives. Larger individuals can feed on larger prey, while smaller species must eat smaller foodstuffs.
Martinican pit vipers hunts include rats, mice, birds, rabbits, lizards, frogs, snakes, bats, and more.
With few exceptions, crotalines are ovoviviparous, meaning that the embryos develop within eggs that remain inside the mother's body until the offspring are ready to hatch, at which time the hatchlings emerge as functionally free-living young. In such species the eggshells are reduced to soft membranes that the young shed, either within the reproductive tract, or immediately after emerging.