Bothrops fonsecai, also known commonly as Fonseca's lancehead, is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae.McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. (series). (volume). The species is endemic to Brazil.
Etymology The specific name, fonsecai, is in honor of Dr. Flavio da Fonseca, who was head of the laboratory of parasitology at the Instituto Butantan in São Paulo, Brazil.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Bothrops fonsecai, p. 91).
Geographic range B. fonsecai is found in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of B. fonsecai is forest, at altitudes up to .
Description Adults of B. fonsecai have a total length (including tail) of about .
Behavior B. fonsecai is terrestrial.
Diet B. fonsecai preys upon small mammals.
Reproduction B. fonsecai is ovoviviparous. Litter size is 14 or less.
References
Further reading Fenwick AM, Gutberlet RL Jr, Evans JA, Parkinson CL (2009). "Morphological and molecular evidence for phylogeny and classification of South American pitvipers, genera Bothrops, Bothriopsis, and Bothrocophias (Serpentes: Viperidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 156 (3): 617–640. (Rhinocerophis fonsecai, new combination). Hoge RA, Belluomini HE (1959). "Uma nova espécie de Bothrops do Brasil (Serpentes) ". Memórias do Instituto Butantan 28: 195–206. (Bothrops fonsecai, new species). (in Portuguese). Menezes FA, Furtado SG, Feio RN, Almeida-Santos SM (2019). "Bothrops fonsecai (Fonseca's Lancehead). Reproduction". Herpetological Review 50 (3): 586–587.