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Reptile and Amphibian Encyclopedia > Snakes > Pitvipers

Pitvipers

The Crotalinae, or crotalines, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Asia and the Americas. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head. Currently, 18 genera and 151 species are recognized: 7 genera and 54 species in the Old World, against a greater diversity of 11 genera and 97 species in the New World. These are also the only viperids found in the Americas. The groups of snakes represented here include rattlesnakes, lanceheads and Asian pitvipers. The type genus for this subfamily is Crotalus, of which the type species is the timber rattlesnake, C. horridus.

These snakes range in size from the diminutive hump-nosed viper, Hypnale hypnale, that grows to an average only 30-45 cm, to the bushmaster, Lachesis muta; a species that is known to reach a maximum of 3.65 m in length -- the longest viperid in the world.

What makes this group unique is that they all share a common characteristic: a deep pit, or fossa, in the loreal area between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head. These loreal pits are the external openings to a pair of extremely sensitive infrared detecting organs, which in effect give the snakes a sixth sense that helps them to find and perhaps even judge the size of the small warm-blooded prey on which they feed.

Pit Vipers

Moccasins - Agkistrodon (Palisot de Beauvois, 1799)
see Moccasins
Jumping pitvipers - Atropoides (Werman, 1992)
- Mexican jumping pitviper - A. nummifer (Rüppell, 1845)
  - Central American jumping pitviper - A. n. mexicanus ((Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
  - Mexican jumping pitviper - A. n. nummifer ((Rüppell, 1845)
  - Guatemalan jumping pitviper - A. n. occiduus ((Hoge, 1966)
- Tuxtlan jumping pitviper - A. olmec (Pérez-Higareda, H.M. Smith & Juliá-Zertuche, 1985)
- Picado's jumping pitviper - A. picadoi (Dunn, 1939)
Palm-pitvipers - Bothriechis (Peters, 1859)
Forest-pitvipers - Bothriopsis (Peters, 1861)
- Two-striped forest-pitviper - B. bilineata (Wied-Neuwied, 1825)
  - Amazonian palm viper - B. b. bilineata (Wied-Neuwied, 1821)
  - Loro machaco - B. b. smaragdinus (Hoge, 1966)
- Venezuelan forest-pitviper - B. medusa (Sternfeld, 1920)
- Peruvian forest-pitviper - B. oligolepis (Werner, 1901)
- B. peruviana (Boulenger, 1903)
- Andean forest-pitviper - B. pulchra (Peters, 1862)
- Chocoan lancehead - B. punctata (Garcia, 1896)
- Speckled forest-pitviper - B. taeniata (Wagler, 1824)
  - B. t. lichenosa (Roze, 1958)
  - Speckled forest-pitviper - B. t. taeniata (Wagler, 1824)
Lanceheads - Bothrops (Wagler, 1824)
- Urutu - B. alternatus (Duméril, Bibron and Duméril, 1854)
- Patagonian lancehead - B. ammodytoides (Leybold, 1873)
- Andean lancehead - B. andianus (Amaral, 1923)
- Terciopelo - B. asper (Garman, 1884)
- Common lancehead - B. atrox (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Barnett's lancehead - B. barnetti (Parker, 1938)
- Brazil's lancehead - B. brazili (Hoge, 1954)
- Ecuadorian toadheaded pitviper - B. campbelli (Freire-Lascano, 1991)
- Saint Lucia lancehead - B. caribbaeus (Garman, 1887)
- Colombian toadheaded pitviper - B. colombianus (Rendahl & Vestergren, 1940)
- Cotiara - B. cotiara (Gomes, 1913)
- Caatinga lancehead - B. erythromelas (Amaral, 1923)
- Fonseca's lancehead - B. fonsecai (Hoge & Belluomini, 1959)
- Amazonian toadheaded pitviper - B. hyoprorus (Amaral, 1935)
- Cerrado lancehead - B. iglesiasi (Amaral, 1923)
- Golden lancehead - B. insularis (Amaral, 1922)
- São Paulo lancehead - B. itapetiningae (Boulenger, 1907)
- Jararaca - B. jararaca (Wied-Neuwied, 1824)
- Jararacussu - B. jararacussu (Lacerda, 1884)
- Cochabamba lancehead - B. jonathani (Harvey, 1994)
- Martinique lancehead - B. lanceolatus (Bonnaterre, 1790)
- Bahia lancehead - B. leucurus (Wagler, 1824)
- Lojan lancehead - B. lojanus (Parker, 1930)
- Marajó lancehead - B. marajoensis (Hoge, 1966)
- Small-eyed toadheaded pitviper - B. microphthalmus (Cope, 1875)
- Brazilian lancehead - B. moojeni (Hoge, 1966)
- Neuwied's lancehead - B. neuwiedi (Wagler, 1824)
  - - B. n. bolivianus (Amaral, 1927)
  - Chaco lancehead - B. n. diporus (Cope, 1862)
  - - B. n. goyazensis (Amaral, 1925)
  - Cerrado lancehead - B. n. lutzi (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1915)
  - Mato Grosso lancehead - B. n. mattogrossensis (Amaral, 1925)
  - - B. n. meridionalis (Müller, 1885)
  - Neuwied's lancehead - B. n. neuwiedi (Wagler, 1824)
  - - B. n. paramanensis (Amaral, 1925)
  - Black-faced lancehead - B. n. pauloensis (Amaral, 1925)
  - - B. n. piauhyensis (Amaral, 1925)
  - Pampas lancehead - B. n. pubescens (Cope, 1870)
  - - B. n. urutu (Orejas-Miranda, 1970)
- Desert lancehead - B. pictus (Tschudi, 1845)
- Piraja's lancehead - B. pirajai (Amaral, 1923)
- - B. pradoi (Hoge, 1948)
- Bolivian lancehead - B. sanctaecrucis (Hoge, 1966)
- Venezuelan lancehead - B. venezuelensis (Sandner Montilla, 1952)
Malayan pitviper - Calloselasma (Cope, 1860)
Montane pitvipers - Cerrophidion (Campbell & Lamar, 1992)
Rattlesnakes - Crotalus (Linnaeus, 1758)
see Rattlesnakes
Hundred-pace pitviper - Deinagkistrodon (Gloyd, 1979)
Asian moccasins - Gloydius (Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981)
- Japanese mamushi - G. blomhoffii (H. Boie, 1826)
  - Japanese mamushi - G. b. blomhoffii (Boie, 1826)
  - Short-tailed mamushi - G. b. brevicaudus (Stejneger, 1907)
  - Tung Ling mamushi - G. b. dubitatus (Gloyd, 1977)
  - Yangtze mamushi - G. b. siniticus (Gloyd, 1977)
- Siberian pitviper - G. halys (Pallas, 1776)
  - Boehme's pitviper - G. h. boehmei Nilson, 1983
  - Karaganda pitviper - G. h. caraganus (Eichwald, 1831)
  - Alashan pitviper - G. h. cognatus (Gloyd, 1977)
  - Siberian pitviper - G. h. halys (Pallas, 1776)
  - - G. h. mogoi Bour, 1993
- Himalayan pitviper - G. himalayanus (Günther, 1864)
- Central Asian pitviper - G. intermedius (Strauch, 1868)
  - Caucasian pit viper - G. i. caucasicus (Nikolsky, 1916)
  - Central Asian pit viper - G. i. intermedius (Strauch, 1868)
  - Gobi pit viper - G. i. stejnegeri (Rendahl, 1933)
- Likiang pitviper - G. monticola (Werner, 1922)
- Rock mamushi - G. saxatilis (Emelianov, 1937)
- Shedao Island pitviper - G. shedaoensis (Zhao, 1979)
- Strauch's pitviper - G. strauchi (Bedriaga, 1912)
- Tsushima Island pitviper - G. tsushimaensis (Moriya & Mitsui, 1994)
- Ussuri mamushi - G. ussuriensis (Emelianov, 1929)
Hump-nosed pit vipers - Hypnale (Fitzinger, 1843)
- Hump-nosed viper - H. hypnale (Merrem, 1820)
- Sri Lankan hump-nosed viper - H. nepa (Laurenti, 1768)
- Wall's hump-nosed viper - H. walli (Gloyd, 1977)
Bushmasters - Lachesis (Daudin, 1803)
- Black-headed bushmaster - L. melanocephala (Solórzano & Cerdas, 1986)
- South American bushmaster - L. muta (Linnaeus, 1766)
  - South American bushmaster - L. m. muta (Linnaeus, 1766)
  - Atlantic forest bushmaster - L. m. rhombeata (Wied-Neuwied, 1824)
- Central American bushmaster - L. stenophrys (Cope, 1875)
Mexican horned pitvipers - Ophryacus (Cope, 1887)
- Black-tailed horned pitviper - O. melanurus (Müller, 1924)
- Mexican horned pitviper - O. undulatus (Jan, 1859)
Mountain pit vipers - Ovophis (Burger, 1981)
- Mount Kinabalu pit viper - O. chaseni (M.A. Smith, 1931)
- Mountain pit viper - O. monticola (Günther, 1864)
  - Indo-Malayan mountain pitviper - O. m. convictus (Stoliczka, 1870)
  - Taiwan mountain pitviper - O. m. makazayazaya (Takahashi, 1922)
  - Mountain pitviper - O. m. monticola (Günther, 1864)
  - Zayuan mountain pitviper - O. m. zayuensis (Jiang, 1977)
  - Gaoligong mountain pitviper - O. m. zhaokentangi (Zhao, 1995)
- Okinawa pit viper O. okinavensis (Boulenger, 1892)
Hognose pit vipers - Porthidium (Cope, 1871)
- Dunn's hognosed pitviper - P. dunni (Hartweg & Oliver, 1938)
- Colima hognosed pitviper - P. hespere (Campbell, 1976)
- Lansberg's hognosed pitviper - P. lansbergii (Schlegel, 1841)
  - Manabí hognosed pitviper - P. l. arcosae (Schätti & Kramer, 1993)
  - P. l. hutmanni (Sandner Montilla, 1989)
  - P. l. lansbergii (Schlegel, 1841)
  - P. l. rozei (Peters, 1968)
- Rainforest hognosed pitviper - P. nasutum (Bocourt, 1868)
- Slender hognosed pitviper - P. ophryomegas (Bocourt, 1869)
- Ujarran hognosed pitviper - P. volcanicum (Solorzano, 1995)
- Yucatán hognosed pitviper - P. yucatanicum (Smith, 1941)
Ground rattlesnakes - Sistrurus (Garman, 1883)
see Rattlesnakes
Asian lanceheads - Trimeresurus (Lacépède, 1804)
- White-lipped pitviper - T. albolabris (Gray, 1842)
  - White-lipped pitviper - T. a. albolabris (Gray, 1842)
  - White-lipped island pitviper - T. a. insularis (Kramer, 1977)
  - Northern white-lipped pitviper - T. a. septentrionalis (Kramer, 1977)
- Bornean pitviper - T. borneensis (Peters, 1872)
- Brongersma's pitviper - T. brongersmai Hoge, 1969)
- Cantor's pitviper - T. cantori (Blyth, 1846)
- Fan-Si-Pan horned pitviper - T. cornutus M.A. Smith, 1930)
- Elegant pitviper - T. elegans (Gray, 1849)
- Red-tailed bamboo pitviper - T. erythrurus (Cantor, 1839)
- Banded pitviper - T. fasciatus (Boulenger, 1896)
- Philippine pitviper - T. flavomaculatus (Gray, 1842)
  - Philippine pitviper - T. f. flavomaculatus (Gray, 1842)
  - T. f. halieus Griffin, 1910
  - McGregor's pitviper - T. f. mcgregori Taylor, 1919)
- Habu - T. flavoviridis (Hallowell, 1861)
- Kikushi habu - T. gracilis (Oshima, 1920)
- Bamboo pitviper - T. gramineus (Shaw, 1802)
- Hagen's pitviper - T. hageni (Lidth de Jeude, 1886)
- Jerdon's pitviper - T. jerdonii (Günther, 1875)
  - Bourret's pitviper - T. j. bourreti (Klemmer, 1963)
  - Jerdon's pitviper - T. j. jerdonii (Günther, 1875)
  - Red spotted pitviper - T. j. xanthomelas (Günther, 1889)
- Kanburi pitviper - T. kanburiensis (M.A. Smith, 1943)
- T. karanshahi (Orlov & Helfenberger, 1997)
- Kaulback's lance-headed pitviper - T. kaulbacki (M.A. Smith, 1940)
- Nicobar bamboo pitviper - T. labialis (Steindachner, 1867)
- Large-scaled pitviper - T. macrolepis (Beddome, 1862)
- Large-eyed pitviper - T. macrops (Kramer, 1977)
- Malabar rock pitviper - T. malabaricus (Jerdon, 1854)
- Mangshan pitviper - T. mangshanensis (Zhao, 1990)
- Motuo bamboo pitviper - T. medoensis (Zhao, 1977)
- Brown spotted pitviper - T. mucrosquamatus (Cantor, 1839)
- Pope's bamboo pitviper - T. popeorum (M.A. Smith, 1937)
  - Barat bamboo pitviper - T. p. barati (Regenass & Kramer, 1981)
  - Pope's bamboo pitviper - T. p. popeorum (M.A. Smith, 1937)
  - Sabah bamboo pitviper - T. p. sabahi (Regenass & Kramer, 1981)
- Flat-nosed pitviper - T. puniceus (Kuhl, 1824)
- Mangrove pit viper - T. purpureomaculatus (Gray, 1832)
  - Nicobar mangrove pit viper - T. p. andersoni (Theobald, 1868)
  - Mangrove pit viper - T. p. purpureomaculatus (Gray, 1832)
- Schultze's pitviper - T. schultzei (Griffin, 1909)
- Stejneger's bamboo pitviper - T. stejnegeri (Schmidt, 1925)
  - Chen's bamboo pitviper - T. s. chenbihuii (Zhao, 1997)
  - Stejneger's bamboo pitviper - T. s. stejnegeri (Schmidt, 1925)
  - Yunnan bamboo pitviper - T. s. yunnanensis (Schmidt, 1925)
- Horseshoe pitviper - T. strigatus (Gray, 1842)
- Sumatran pitviper - T. sumatranus (Raffles, 1822)
  - Malcolm's pitviper - T. s. malcolmi (Loveridge, 1938
  - Sumatran pitviper - T. s. sumatranus (Raffles, 1822)
- Tibetan bamboo pitviper - T. tibetanus (Huang, 1982)
- Tokara habu - T. tokarensis (Nagai, 1928)
- Sri Lankan green pitviper - T. trigonocephalus (Donndorff, 1798)
- Kham Plateau pitviper - T. xiangchengensis (Zhao, Jiang & Huang, 1978)
Temple vipers - Tropidolaemus (Wagler, 1830)
- Hutton's tree viper - T. huttoni (M.A. Smith, 1949)
- Wagler's pit viper - T. wagleri (Boie, 1827)