Lachesis (genus)
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{{Taxobox
| name = ''Lachesis''
| image = lachesis muta muta.jpg
| image_caption = South American bushmaster, ''[[Lachesis muta|L. muta]]''
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| subphylum = [[Vertebrate|Vertebrata]]
| classis = [[Reptile|Reptilia]]
| ordo = [[Squamata]]
| subordo = [[Serpentes]]
| familia = [[Viperidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Crotalinae]]
| genus = '''''Lachesis'''''
| genus_authority = [[François Marie Daudin|Daudin]], 1803
| synonyms = * ''Lachesis'' - Daudin, 1803
* ''Trigonocephalus'' - Oppel, 1811
* ''Trigalus'' - Rafinesque, 1815
* ''Cophias'' - Merrem, 1820<ref name="McD99">McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).</ref>
}}
:'''''Common names''': bushmasters.''
'''''Lachesis''''' is a [[genus]] of [[venomous snake|venomous]] [[Crotalinae|pitviper]]s found in the remote, forested areas in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]]. The generic name refers to one of the [[Moirae|Three Fates]] in [[Greek mythology]]; Lachesis determined the length of the thread of life.<ref name="C&L04">Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.</ref> Three species are currently recognized.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|ID=209555|taxon=''Lachesis''|year=2006|date=25 October}}</ref>
==Description==
Adults vary in length from 2 to 2.5 m, although and some may grow to as much as 3 m. The largest known specimen was just under 3.65 m, making it the longest venomous snake in the [[Western Hemisphere]]. This is also the longest viper, though not the heaviest (it is surpassed by the [[Bitis gabonica|gaboon viper]] and the [[Crotalus adamanteus|Eastern diamondback rattlesnake]]).
==Geographic range==
Found in [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]].<ref name="McD99"/> Also found on the island of [[Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidad]].<ref name="CTT">[http://trinbagobiodiversity.gov.tt/reptiles/snakes/index.htm List of Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago] at [http://trinbagobiodiversity.gov.tt/ Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Biodiversity Clearing House]. Accessed 25 October 2006.</ref>
==Reproduction==
''Lachesis'' is the only neo-tropical [[Crotalinae|pit viper]] that lays [[egg (biology)|egg]]s: about a dozen in the average clutch. The female is reported to remain with the eggs during incubation and may aggressively defend the nest if approached. The hatchlings average 30 cm in length and are more colorful than the adults.
==Venom==
One of the largest and most dangerous snakes in South America, these snake are capable of multiple bite strikes and injecting large amounts of venom. Even the bite of a juvenile specimen can be fatal.
==Species==
{| cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;"
!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Species<ref name="ITIS"/>
!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Authority<ref name="ITIS"/>
!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Subsp.*<ref name="ITIS"/>
!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Common name
!bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Geographic range<ref name="McD99"/>
|-
|''[[Lachesis melanocephala|L. melanocephala]]''
|Solórzano and Cerdas, 1986
|align="center"|0
|Black-headed bushmaster
|style="width:40%"|[[Costa Rica]]: Pacific versant of southeastern [[Puntarenas]] province from near sea level to about 1500 m.
|-
|''[[Lachesis muta|L. muta]]''<font size="-1"><sup>T</sup></font>
|([[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766)
|align="center"|1
|South American bushmaster
|[[South America]] in the equatorial forests east of the [[Andes]]: [[Colombia]], eastern [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]], northern [[Bolivia]], eastern and southern [[Venezuela]], [[Guyana]], [[Surinam]], [[French Guiana]] and much of northern [[Brazil]]. It also occurs on the island of [[Trinidad]].<ref name="CTT">[http://trinbagobiodiversity.gov.tt/reptiles/snakes/index.htm List of Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago] at [http://trinbagobiodiversity.gov.tt/ Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Biodiversity Clearing House]. Accessed 6 November 2006.</ref>
|-
|''[[Lachesis stenophrys|L. stenophrys]]''
|[[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1875
|align="center"|0
|Central American bushmaster
|In [[Central America]] it is found in the Atlantic lowlands of southern [[Nicaragua]], [[Costa Rica]] and [[Panama]], as well as the Pacific lowlands of central and eastern Panama. In [[South America]] it occurs in the Pacific lowlands of [[Colombia]] and northwestern [[Ecuador]], the [[Caribbean]] coast of northwestern Colombia and inland along the [[Magdalena River|Magdalena]] and [[Cauca river]] valleys.
|-
|}
''*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).''<br>
<font size="-1"><sup>T</sup></font>) [[Type species]].
==See also==
* [[List of crotaline species and subspecies]]
* {{c|Crotalinae by common name}}
* {{c|Crotalinae by taxonomic synonyms}}
* [[Snakebite]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
<div class="references-small">
* Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. ISBN 0-8069-6460-X.
* [[Mark O'Shea|O'Shea M]]. 2005. Venomous Snakes of the World. Princeton University Press. 160 pp. ISBN 0-691-12436-1.
</div>
==External links==
* {{NRDB genus|genus=Lachesis|date=24 August|year=2007}}
[[Category:Crotalinae]]
[[cs:Křovinář němý]]
[[es:Lachesis]]
[[fr:Lachesis]]
[[nl:Lachesis (geslacht)]]
[[ru:Бушмейстеры]]
[[zh:巨蝮屬]]