Range extension of the Munchique rufous lancehead Bothrocophias colombianus in Colombia

Abstract

T South American pitvipers of the genus Bothrocophias are corpulent, moderate-sized snakes with non-prehensile tails, mainly terrestrial and active at night and twilight. They are associated with primary forests, mature secondary forests and are frequently found in riparian forests. They feed mainly on rodents, although lizards, caecilians, frogs and even other snakes are also included in their diet (Wüster et al., 2002; Campbell & Lamar, 2004; Cisneros-Heredia et al., 2006; Rojas-Rivera et al., 2013). The highest species richness of Bothrocophias is found in Colombia, where 5 of the 7 currently recognised species occur (Uetz et al., 2020), of which Bothrocophias myersi and Bothrocophias colombianus (Rendahl & Vestergren, 1940) are endemic and only known from a few localities in the Colombian Pacific region. These are thus the most geographically restricted species within the genus (Campbell & Lamar, 2004; Castro et al., 2005). The Munchique rufous lancehead B. colombianus is distributed along the western slopes of Cordillera Occidental in Colombia between 800-2300 m, in the municipality of El Tambo, department of Cauca, inside the protected area and buffer zones of Parque Nacional Natural Munchique and in surrounding areas, such as Reserva Natural Tambito (Rendahl & Vestergren, 1941; Castro et al., 2005; Ayerbe-González et al., 2007; Folleco-Fernández, 2010). In that area, the species has been reported as common and relatively abundant (VeraPérez et al., 2018). Here we add a new locality of the species in the Colombian Pacific region (Fig. 1), which represents a significant expansion of its geographical range.