''Porthidium volcanicum'', the Ujarran hognosed pitviper, is a
venomous pitviper
The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subfa ...
species endemic to
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
.
[Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. 2 volumes. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp., 1500 plates. .] No
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are currently recognized.
Description
Adults of ''P. volcanicum'' are moderately stout, with females growing to in total length (including tail). The only male ever collected was long.
Geographic range
''Porthidium volcanicum'' is known only from the
type locality, which is given as "Ujarrás de Buenos Aires (Valle del General, suoeste de la provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica)", Volcán de Buenos Aires and Valle del General in
Puntarenas Province
Puntarenas () is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
.
Habitat
''Porthidium volcanicum'' occurs in
tropical moist forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Description
TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...
. The region receives of rainfall annually and has a dry season January–April.
References
Further reading
*Solórzano, Alejandro (1994). "''Una nueva especie de serpiente terrestre del genero'' Porthidium ''(Serpentes: Viperidae), del Suroeste de Costa Rica'' ". ''Revista de Biología Tropical'' 42 (3): 695–701. (''Porthidium volcanicum'', new species). (in Spanish).
External links
*
volcanicum
Snakes of Central America
Reptiles of Costa Rica
Endemic fauna of Costa Rica
Reptiles described in 1994
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