Posted by:
JerryFriedman
at Wed Mar 30 10:26:10 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by JerryFriedman ]
>>>>
>>>>However, in case no one wants to do that, I'll ask my questions. Is Bothrops atrox found in Central America,
>>
>>No.
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>>>> or are references to it in C.A. the result of confusion with B. asper?
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>>Yes. Bothrops asper was long regarded as part of B. atrox, but has generally been considered distinct for the last 20-30 years.
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>>> How incorrect is it to call either of these species "fer-de-lance"?
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>>Depends whether you believe in standardised common names. Those who do normally reserve the term fer-de-lance for the Martinique species Bothrops lanceolatus, but in relaity, it is widely used for a number of species of lancehead.
Ah, reality. It's sometimes inconvenient for amateur encyclopedists, but I like it anyway.
Can you tell me which species are called fer-de-lances? So far I've got B. lanceolatus, caribbaeus, atrox, and asper, in what might be descending order of correctness. Are there others, or is it just a question of how loose you want the terminology to be?
>>> Was I right to say that many scientists and hobbyists prefer the names "common lancehead" for atrox and "terciopelo" for asper?
>>
>>Yes.
Too bad. Maybe because of the weight of tradition, or just because I learned "fer-de-lance" in childhood, I like it better than "lancehead". If I'd been there (not likely) when they were making the new common names, I'd have voted for "common fer-de-lance", "Martinique fer-de-lance", "rough fer-de-lance", etc.
>>> How common is the name "barba amarilla" in English?
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>>Uncommon AFAIK
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>>> Is it fair to call these snakes "highly venomous", or should that term be reserved for those Australian snakes that can kill 50 mice with some tiny amount of venom?
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>>How long is a piece of string? Basically, drop-for-drop and in mice, their venoms are not all that impressive compared with many other venomous snakes. However, in real life, they often inflict lethal bites or cause massive local tissue damage. Call that what you will
I will. Thanks for your very helpful answers. I'm going to do some editing now.
Jerry Friedman
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RE: Wikipedia articles on Bothrops - JerryFriedman, Wed Mar 30 10:26:10 2005
