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info on Fer-de-lance
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by Wollers on June 3, 2003
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Anyone able to tell me what the major differences are between Bothrops asper and B. atrox ? I've been unable to find any real good info on these 2 species which I'm interested in. Someday I would like to add one of these snakes to my collection.
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RE: info on Fer-de-lance
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by CAISSACA on June 4, 2003
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Hi,
The relationship between the two is pretty confused, particulalrly inr elation to the northern populations from Venezuela, NE Colombia and Trinidad.
Basically, for the most part, B. atrox is a smaller snake (a five-footer would be a very big specimen, and most are around 3-4 ft - however, CB specimens can get larger), it has a fairly broad dark postocular stripe (stripe behind the eye) that usually encroaches on at least 3 of the supralabials, and the hourglass markings along the body tend towards being squarish. Males and younger specimens often have extensive dark marks on the supralabials.
B. asper gets much larger (6 ft is common in females), the postocular stripe is very narrow (only encoraces on 1-2 postocularss), and the hourglass markings are generally strongly triangular, with very narrow tops. The suprlabials are usually +/- immaculate in both sexes, except a minority of very small juveniles.
Specimens from northern Venezuela and Trinidad buck the trend - genetic research shows they are closest to B. atrox, but they get big, and some aspects of the pattern can be quite asper-like.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Wolfgang
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RE: info on Fer-de-lance
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by Snakeman1982 on June 4, 2003
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Hello Mike,
There are a lot of differences between Terciopelo (Bothrops asper) and common lancehead (Bothrops atrox). First you might want to know that neither of these species should be called Fer-de-Lance. Although many of the over 30 Bothrops species get called the Fer-de-Lance, the Terciopelo is most commonly called the Fer-de-Lance. However there is only one "true" Fer-de-Lance and it is Bothrops lanceolatus which is on the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles.
Anyway, the Terciopelo (Bothrops asper) generally grows quite a bit larger at well over 7 feet. It is a heavy bodied snake and is the second largest pitviper in the neotropics. The common lancehead is smaller but not too significantly. They both look somewhat similar but I am sure that if you looked up some of their photos on-line or in a book you should be able to tell the difference better than if I discribed it. One of the best and cheaper but affective books for this is the Dorling and Kindersly book Reptiles and Amphibians by Mark O'Shea and Dr. Tim Halliday. It has photos and stats on both species. Hope this helps.
Robert C. Jadin
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RE: info on Fer-de-lance
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by Wollers on June 5, 2003
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Hey guys, I appreciate the good information. I'll check out that O'Shea book. I assume it's a fairly recent book and still in print. Thanks again, Mike
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RE: info on Fer-de-lance
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by CAISSACA on June 8, 2003
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In terms of the systematics and distinction between the two, Campbell & Lamar are actually pretty far off the mark. For a start, the Venezuelan and Trinidad populations they assign to B. asper are much closer to B. atrox than to B. asper.
Cheers,
Wolfgang
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