AnimalvsAnimal
Bothrops insularis Instituto Butantã (2)🐍

Photo: Miguelrangeljr · CC BY-SA 4.0

SpeciesViperidae
Reptiles

🐍Golden lancehead

Bothrops insularis (Amaral, 1922)

The golden lancehead is an extremely venomous pit viper species in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is found exclusively on the island of Ilha da Queimada Grande, off the coast of São Paulo state, in Brazil. The common name of the species refers to the light yellowish-brown color of its underside and for its lance-like head shape that is characteristic of the genus Bothrops. No subspecies of B. insularis are recognized as being valid. It is one of the most venomous snakes in Latin America.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
1
Photos
1
Measurements
4
vs you
≈ 1/74th of your weight
Also called
Bothrops insularis
Conservation status
CRCritically endangered

IUCN Red List assessment, 2021.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
0.84 kg
Body length
1.18 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
not recorded
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Golden lancehead

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
0.84 kgmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Body length
1.18 mmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Venomous
Yes
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
0.8 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Golden lancehead yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classSquamata
  4. ›familyViperidae
  5. ›genusBothrops
  6. ›speciesBothrops insularis
Full lineage
  1. orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
  2. infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
  3. familyViperidae
  4. subfamilyCrotalinae
All 13 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. superorderLepidosauria
  10. orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
  11. infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
  12. familyViperidae
  13. subfamilyCrotalinae
More

More about the Golden lancehead

In other languages
jararaca-ilhoa (pt), arany lándzsakígyó (hu), златна змия (bg), Insel-Lanzenotter (de), jararaca-ilhoa (fr), Bothropoides insularis (it) … and 16 more languages

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