Ophryacus

Common names: Mexican horned pitvipers.Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. .

Ophryacus is a genus of pit vipers endemic to Mexico. The name is derived from the Greek word ophrys (ὀφρύς), which means "brow", and the Latin word acus, which means "needle", an allusion to the characteristic horn-like scales over the eyes. Currently, three species are recognized and no subspecies.

Description The larger of the two species, O. undulatus, grows to between in length. They are characterized by the presence of a single scale over the eye that takes the shape of either a long and relatively slender spine, or a flattened horn. Often, other supraocular scales are also shaped in such a way that they project slightly.

Geographic range They are restricted to the mountains of eastern, central and southern Mexico.

Species SpeciesTaxon authorCommon nameGeographic rangeO. smaragdinusGrünwald, Jones, Franz-Chávez & Ahumada-Carrillo, 2015Emerald Horned PitviperEastern Mexico.O. sphenophrys(L. Müller, 1924)Broad-horned PitviperThe mountains of Oaxaca.O. undulatusT(Jan, 1859)Slender-horned PitviperThe mountains of central and southern Mexico (Hidalgo, Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Guerrero) west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec at elevations of 1800–2800 m (5,900–9200 feet). T) Type species.

References

Ophryacus

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