Bothrops leucurus, commonly known as the whitetail lancehead or the Bahia lancehead, is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Brazil. There are no subspecies which are recognized as being valid. A female owned by youtuber Venom Central is over six feet long.
The specific name, leucurus, meaning "whitetail", is from the Latin words leucus (white) and urus (tail).
The specific name, pradoi, of the junior synonym Trimeresurus pradoi, is in honor of Brazilian herpetologist Alcides Prado.
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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...
B
starts withBothrops leucurus is found in eastern Brazil along the Atlantic coast from northern Espírito Santo north to Alagoas and Ceará. It occurs more inland in several parts of Bahia. The identity of disjunct populations west of the Rio São Francisco is uncertain. The type locality is listed as "provinciae Bahiae". It inhabits both urban and rural areas.
It is the snake responsible for more bites in the state of Bahia, the venom contains high fibrinolytic, proteolytic, hemorrhagic and edematogenic activity, and low coagulant activity, which can cause myonecrosis in humans. Symptoms include local pain, edema, erythema and ecchymosis (local symptoms), hemorrhagic and coagulation symptoms, digestive disorders (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), urinary disorders (oliguria, anuria, hematuria) with headaches, dizziness, hypotension, bradycardia, visual disturbances and tremors.
It feeds on rodents, lizards, amphibians, snakes and birds (Martins et al., 2002). with adults feeding on rodents, and juveniles feeding on frogs and lizards.
Bothrops leucurus is viviparous. The gestation period is four months, and a medium-sized litter is 19 young, birth occurs between winter and summer.
