Metlapilcoatlus occiduus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Metlapilcoatlus occiduus
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Metlapilcoatlus
Species:	occiduus
Synonyms
Bothrops affinis Bocourt, 1868 Bothriopsis affinis – Cope, 1871 Trigonocephalus affinis – Garman, 1884 Bothrops nummifer affinis – Stuart, 1963 Bothrops nummifer occiduus Hoge, 1966 (replacement name for Bothrops affinis Bocourt, 1868) Bothrops nummifer occiduus – Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981 Porthidium nummifer occiduum – Campbell & Lamar, 1989

Common names: Guatemalan jumping pitviper.

Metlapilcoatlus occiduus is a venomous pitviper subspecies endemic to southern Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Description

Adults are usually 35–60 cm (13+3⁄4–23+5⁄8 in) in total length. The largest specimens reported are a male of 74.8 cm (29+1⁄2 in) from Baja Verapaz, Guatemala, and a female of 79.5 cm (31+1⁄4 in) from Volcán de Agua, Escuintla, Guatemala. The build is very stout, although not so much as that of M. mexicanus.

Geographic range

Found in southern Mexico (southeastern Chiapas), southern and central Guatemala, and western El Salvador. The type locality given is "Saint-Augustín (Guatemala), versant occidentale de la Córdillère. 610 mètres [2,000 ft] d´altitude". Actually, San Augustín is on the southern slope of Volcán Atitlán.

Habitat

Its habitat includes subtropical wet forest on the Pacific versant from southeastern Chiapas, Mexico to western El Salvador. It also inhabits the pine-oak forest near Guatemala City. It can be found at altitudes varying from 1,000–1,600 m (3,300–5,200 ft).

Taxonomy

Regarded as a full species, Metlapilcoatlus occiduus, by Campbell and Lamar (2004).