Kingdom Animalia Suborder Serpentes Subfamily Crotalinae Phylum Chordata Order Scaled reptiles | Subphylum Vertebrata Family Viperidae Scientific name Ophryacus Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Ophryacus undulatus, Mixcoatlus melanurus | ||
Ophryacus is a genus of venomous pit vipers endemic to Mexico. The name is derived from the Greek word ophrys, which means "brow", and the Latin word acus, which means "needle", an allusion to the characteristic horn-like scales over the eyes. Currently, two species are recognized and no subspecies.
Contents
Description
The larger of the two species, O. undulatus, grows to between 55 and 70 cm (22 and 28 in) 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 central and southern Mexico.
Species
T) Type species.
References
Ophryacus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA