Bothrops jararaca - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Common names: jararaca, yarara.

Bothrops jararaca is a venomous

Venomous snake

"Poisonous snake" redirects here. For true poisonous snakes, see Rhabdophis.Venomous snakes are snakes which have venom glands and specialized teeth for the injection of venom...

pit viper

Crotalinae

The Crotalinae, commonly known as "pit vipers" or crotaline snakes, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Asia and the Americas. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head...

species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

found in southern Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

and northern Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. The species name is derived from the Tupi

Tupian languages

The Tupi or Tupian language family comprises some 70 languages spoken in South America, of which the best known are Tupi proper and Guarani.-History, members and classification:...

words yarará and ca, which means "large snake." Within its range it is often abundant and is an important cause of snakebite. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Description

This is a slender and terrestrial species that grows to a maximum length of 160 cm (63 in), although the average length is much less.

The head scalation includes 5-12 intersupraoculars that are weakly keeled, 7-9 supralabials (usually 8) of which the second is fused with the prelacunal to form a lacunolabial, and 9-13 sublabials (usually 10-12). Midbody there are 20-27 dorsal scales

Dorsal scales

In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales.When counting dorsal scales, numbers are often given for three points along the body, for example 19:21:17...

(usually 23-25). The ventrals number 170-216 (rarely 218) and there are 51-71 subcaudals that are mostly paired.

The color-pattern is extremely variable, consisting of a dorsal ground color that may be tan, brown, gray, yellow, olive, or almost maroon. Midbody, this color is usually somewhat lighter than the head, anterior and posterior. This is overlaid with a series of pale-edged, dark brown subtriangular or trapezoidal markings on either side of the body, the apexes of which reach the vertebral line. These marking may be situated opposite each other, or partially or completely juxtaposed; most specimens have a pattern with all three variations. In juveniles, the tip of the tail is white.

The head has a prominent, dark brown stripe that runs from behind the eye on either side of the head back to the angle of the mouth, usually touching the last three supralabials. Dorsally, this stripe is bordered by a distinct pale area. The tongue is black and the iris is gold to greenish gold with slightly darker reticulations.

Common names

The English common name is jararaca. In Argentina

Argentina

it is called yarará and yararaca perezosa. In Brazil

Brazil

it is referred to as caissaca, jaraca, jaracá, jararaca, jararaca-do-rabo-branco, jararaca-do-campo, jararaca-do-cerrado, jararaca-dormideira, jararaca-dominhoca and malha-de-sapo. In Paraguay

Paraguay

and Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

it is also called yarará.

Geographic range

Found in southern Brazil

Brazil

, northeastern Paraguay

Paraguay

and northern Argentina

Argentina

(Misiones). The type locality is listed as "Lagoa d'Arara am Mucurí" (Brazil) by Wied-Neuwied in 1825. Occurs from near sea level to over 1,000 m altitude.

Habitat

Prefers deciduous tropical forests and savanna country, as well as semi-tropical upland forests. It is said to favor open areas, such as farmland, with nearby vegetation cover.

Venom

This species is often abundant within its range, where it is an important cause of snakebite. It is the best-known venomous snake in the wealthy and heavily populated areas of southeastern Brazil

Brazil

, where is was responsible for 52% (3,446 cases) of snakebite between 1902 and 1945 with a 0.7% mortality rate (25 deaths).

The average venom yield is 25-26 mg with a maximum of 300 mg of dried venom. The venom is quite toxic. In mice, the median lethal dose is 1.2-1.3 mg/kg intravenous

Intravenous therapy

Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...

, 1.4 mg/kg intraperitoneal and 3.0 mg/kg subcutaneous. For humans, the LD₅₀ is estimated to be 210 mg subcutaneous.

Typical envenomation symptoms include local swelling, petechiae, bruising and blistering of the affected limb, spontaneous systemic bleeding of the gums and into the skin, subconjunctival hemorrhage and incoagulable blood. The systemic symptoms can potentially be fatal and may involve hemostatic disorders, intracranial hemorrhage, shock and renal failure.

The drugs known as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors

ACE inhibitor

ACE inhibitors or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are a group of drugs used primarily for the treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure...

, which are used for the treatment of hypertension

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...

and some types of congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure

Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...

, were developed from a peptide found in the venom of this species.

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