Bothrocophias campbelli (Freire-Lascano, 1991)

Section Scope

This section describes the physical characteristics, geographic range, habitat, and reproductive mode of Bothrocophias campbelli.

Specimen Lengths

The total length of all currently available specimens of B. campbelli ranges as follows: the type specimen, an adult male, measures 87.0 cm (34+1⁄4 in); a large gravid female measures 105.7 cm (41+5⁄8 in); one specimen from Imbabura, Ecuador measures 121.9 cm (48.0 in); and another specimen from the type locality measures 123.0 cm (48+3⁄8 in).

Midbody Dorsal Scales

For scalation, B. campbelli has 21 to 25 (most often 23) rows of dorsal scales at midbody. All dorsal scales are keeled, except for the first rows.

Posterior Dorsal Scale Keels

The posterior dorsal scales have tubercular keels, a trait that appears even in small specimens; in large specimens, these keels become highly elevated.

Ventral Scale Counts

Males have 152 to 167 ventral scales, while females have 159 to 177 ventral scales.

Subcaudal Scale Counts

Males have 51 to 64 paired subcaudal scales, while females have 48 to 60 paired subcaudal scales.

Head Scale Features

On the head, there are 3 to 8 intersupraocular scales, 7 to 8 supralabial scales (the second supralabial is usually fused with the prelacunal to form a lacunolabial), and 9 to 10 (most often 9) sublabial scales.

Species Distribution

B. campbelli occurs in the Pacific lowlands and slopes from west-central Colombia to Ecuador.

Type Locality

Its given type locality is "Recinto Huagal-Sacramento, cantón Pallatanga, Provincia de Chimborazo, Ecuador. 1500–2000 mts. de altura [4,900–6,600 feet]".

Habitat and Altitude

The preferred natural habitat of B. campbelli is forest, at altitudes between 800 and 2,000 m (2,600–6,600 ft).

Reproductive Mode

B. campbelli reproduces via viviparity.