Rev. Biol. Trop., 48(4): 1001-1013, 2000 www.ucr.ac.cr www.ots.ac.cr www.ots.duke.edu A new species of arboreal pitviper from the Atlantic versant of northern Central America Jonathan A. Campbell1 and Eric N. Smith1 1 Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76010, USA. Fax 817-272-2406. e- mail (JAC)
[email protected], (ENS)
[email protected] Received 9-II-2000. Corrected 14-VI-2000. Accepted 16-VI-2000. Abstract: A new species of green, prehensile-tailed pitviper of the genus Bothriechis is described from the Atlantic slopes of eastern Guatemala and western Honduras. This species appears to be most closely related to B. bicolor of the Pacific versant of Chiapas (Mexico) and Guatemala. Several other species of Bothriechis occur on the Atlantic versant of northern Central America, including two montane species, B. aurifer and B. marchi but, with one possible exception, these are not known to be sympatric with the new species and occur in differ- ent mountain ranges. The widespread B. schlegelii occurs up to at least 900 m on the Sierra de Caral, where the lowest elevation recorded for the new species is 885 m. Key words: Reptilia, Squamata, Viperidae, Pitvipers, Bothriechis, New species, Izabal, Guatemala, Honduras. Species of the arboreal pitviper genus pitvipers that are usually mostly greenish in Bothriechis range from the highlands immedi- color, have the middle preocular and suprala- ately east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to cunal coalesced into a single scale, and have western Panama, with one species extending an exceptionally short tail spine that is usual- into northern South America (Crother et al.