Scientists have identified five cryptic species of the venomous viper genus Bothriechis living in the jungles and cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.
Bothriechis rahimi. Image credit: Lucas Bustamante.
Eyelash vipers stand out due to a distinctive feature: a set of enlarged spine-like scales positioned atop their eyes.
These lashes bestow upon the snakes a formidable and fierce appearance, yet the true purpose of this feature remains unknown.
What is definite, however, is that certain populations exhibit longer, and more stylized eyelashes compared to others.
The variations in the condition of the eyelashes led researchers to hypothesize the existence of undiscovered species.
Eyelash vipers are also famous for another feature: they are polychromatic. The same patch of rainforest may contain individuals of the turquoise morph, the moss morph, or the gold morph, all belonging to the same species despite having entirely different attire.
“No two individuals have the same coloration, even those belonging to the same litter (they give birth to live young),” said Alejandro Arteaga, a researcher with Khamai Foundation and Tropical Herping S.A.
“For some of the species, there is a ‘Christmas’ morph, a ghost morph, and even a purple morph, with the different varieties sometimes coexisting and breeding with one another.”
“The reason behind these incredible color variations is still unknown, but probably enables the vipers to occupy a wide range of ambush perches, from mossy branches to bright yellow heliconias.”
Distribution of the palm pitvipers of the Bothriechis schlegelii species complex, including the five new species. Image credit: Arteaga et al., doi: 10.3897/evolsyst.8.114527.
The newly-identified species of eyelash vipers are Bothriechis rasikusumorum, Bothriechis klebbai, Bothriechis khwargi, Bothriechis rahimi, and Bothriechis hussaini.
The first three species are endemic to the eastern Cordillera of Colombia, where they occupy cloud forests and coffee plantations.
Bothriechis rahimi stands out for occurring in the remote and pristine Chocó rainforest at the border between Colombia and Ecuador.
Bothriechis hussaini occurs in the forests of southwestern Ecuador and extreme northwestern Peru.
“The venom of some (perhaps all) of the new species of vipers is considerably less lethal and hemorrhagic than that of the typical Central American eyelash-viper (Bothriechis schlegelii),” said Lucas Bustamante, a researcher with Tropical Herping S.A. and Savia Fund who was bitten in the finger by Bothriechis rahimi while taking its pictures during a research expedition in 2013.
“I experienced intermittent local pain, dizziness and swelling, but recovered shortly after receiving three doses of antivenom in less than two hours after the bite, with no scar left behind.”
“One of the study’s key conclusions is that four of the species in the group are facing a high risk of extinction,” the researchers said.
“They have an extremely limited geographic range and 50% to 80% of their habitat has already been destroyed.”
“Therefore, a rapid-response action to save the remaining habitat is urgently needed.”
The study was published in the journal Evolutionary Systematics.
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A. Arteaga et al. 2024. Systematic revision of the Eyelash Palm-Pitviper Bothriechis schlegelii (Serpentes, Viperidae), with the description of five new species and revalidation of three. Evolutionary Systematics 8 (1): 15-64; doi: 10.3897/evolsyst.8.114527
Source : Breaking Science News