Bothriechis marchi

{{Speciesbox

| image = March's Palm Pit Viper imported from iNaturalist photo 299189276 on 24 October 2023.jpg

| status = EN

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Wilson, L.D. |author2=Townsend, J.H. |year=2022 |amends=2014 |title=Bothriechis marchi |volume=2022 |page=e.T203659A217781951 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T203659A217781951.en |access-date=17 December 2023}}

| genus = Bothriechis

| species = marchi

| authority = (Barbour & Loveridge, 1929)

| synonyms = *Bothrops nigroviridis marchi
{{small|Barbour & Loveridge, 1929}}

Trimeresurus nigroviridis marchi
{{small|— Clark & Inger, 1942}}
Bothrops nigroviridis marchii
{{small|— J. Peters & Orejas-Miranda, 1970}}
Bothriechis nigroviridis marchi
{{small|— Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1983}}
[Bothrops nigroviridis] marchi
{{small|— Wilson & J. Meyer, 1982}}
Bothriechis aurifer marchi
{{small|— Burger, 1985}}
Bothriechis marchi
{{small|— Campbell & Lamar, 1989}}

| synonyms_ref = McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).

}}

Bothriechis marchi, also known as Honduran palm pit viper and March's palm pit viper, is a species of pit viper, a venomous snake, in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. The species is endemic to Central America.Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp., 1,500 plates. {{ISBN|0-8014-4141-2}}. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Etymology

The specific name, marchi, is in honor of herpetologist Douglas H. March, who died from the bite of a fer-de-lance in 1939.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (Bothriechis marchi, p. 168).

Description

Adults of B. marchi often grow to more than {{convert|80|cm}} in total length (including tail). The largest specimen on record was {{convert|96.8|cm}}. March's palm pit viper is green and relatively slender with a prehensile tail.

Geographic range

Bothriechis marchi is found on the Atlantic versant of northwestern Honduras. Its range might extend into eastern Guatemala. Records from Nicaragua are probably in error. It occurs in mesic forest at elevations of {{convert|500|-|1500|m}} altitude. The type locality given is "the Gold Mines at Quimistan [probably El Oro, Municipio de Quimistán, in the Sierra de Espíritu Santo to the northwest of the town of Quimistán], [Departamento de] Santa Barbara, Honduras Republic".

Reproduction

Bothriechis marchi is viviparous.

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{NRDB species |genus=Bothriechis |species=marchi |access-date=17 December 2023}}

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