Bothrocophias campbelli, commonly known as Campbell's toadheaded viper, and the Ecuadorian toadheaded pitviper, is a species of venomous pitviper in the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to South America.Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 870 pp., 1,500 plates. (in two volumes). . No subspecies are currently recognized.
Etymology Bothrocophias campbelli was named in honor of the American herpetologist Jonathan A. Campbell.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Bothrocophias campbelli, p. 46).
Description The total length (including tail) of the specimens of B. campbelli which are available ranges from the type specimen, an adult male (Freire-Lascano, 1991), to for a large gravid female (Freire-Lascano & Kuch, 2000), to for a specimen from Imbabura, Ecuador, and another of from the type locality.
The scalation includes 21–25 (usually 23) rows of dorsal scales at midbody, all of which are keeled except for the first rows. The posterior dorsals have tubercular keels, even in small specimens, while in large specimens these keels are highly elevated. There are 152-167/159-177 ventral scales in males/females and 51-64/48-60 paired subcaudal scales in males/females. On the head there are 3–8 intersupraocular scales, 7–8 supralabial scales, the second of which is usually fused with the prelacunal to form a lacunolabial, and 9–10 (usually 9) sublabial scales.
Distribution and habitat Bothrocophias campbelli is found in the Pacific lowlands and slopes from west-central Colombia to Ecuador. The type locality is Recinto Huagal-Sacramento, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador, Ecuador. 1500–2000m mts. de altura [4,900–6,600 feet].
The preferred natural habitat of B. campbelli is forest, at altitudes of .
Diet B. campbelli preys upon caecilians, lizards, snakes of the genus Atractus, and small rodents.
Reproduction B. campbelli is viviparous.
Taxonomy In previous accounts, Bothrocophias campbelli has often been included in Bothrops pulcher (W. Peters, 1862), e.g., Lachesis pulcher — Boulenger, 1896, Bothrops pulchra — Amaral, 1923, and Bothrops pulcher — J.Peters & Orejas-Miranda, 1970. Campbell and Lamar (1992) considered Bothrocophias campbelli to be a junior synonym of Bothrops pulcher, but their concept of the latter taxon was incorrect. Schätti and Kramer (1993) argued that Bothrops campbelli (Freire-Lascano, 1991) was a nomen invalidum and suggested a new name, Porthidium almawebi, as a replacement. However, it is clear that Freire-Lascano's (1991) scientific name is valid and has priority over the one proposed by Schätti and Kramer (1993).
Gutberlet and Campbell (2001) moved this taxon to a new genus: Bothrocophias (toadheaded pitvipers).
References
Further reading
Freire-Lascano A (1991). "Dos nuevas especies de Bothrops en el Ecuador ". Publicaciones de Trabajos Científicos del Ecuador, Universidad Técnica de Machala 2: 1–11. (Bothrops campbelli, new species). (in Spanish). Gutberlet RL, Campbell JA (2001). "Generic recognition for a neglected lineage of South American pitvipers (Squamata: Viperidae: Crotalinae), with the description of a new species from the Colombian Chocó". American Museum Novitates (3316): 1–15. (Bothrocophias campbelli, new combination). Rojas-Rivera, Alejandra; Castillo, Karen; Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, Paul David Alfonso (2013). "Bothrocophias campbelli (Campbell's Toad-headed Pit Viper, Víbora Boca de Sapo de Campbell). Diet/Ophiophagy". Herpetological Review 44 (3): 518. Valencia, Jorge H.; Garzón, Katty; Betancourt-Yépez, Raquel (2008). "Notes on the reproduction of the Ecuadorian toad-headed pitviper Bothrocophias campbelli (Freire-Lascano, 1991)". Herpetozoa 21 (1/2): 95–96.