{{Short description|Genus of snakes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Atropoides-nummifer-1a.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Metlapilcoatlus mexicanus]]'' | taxon = Metlapilcoatlus | authority = Campbell, Frost, & Castoe, 2019 }}
'''''Metlapilcoatlus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[pit viper]]s [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]]. Six [[species]] are currently recognized. The common names suggest they are able to leap at an attacker, but this is likely exaggerated. Common names for the species include jumping pitvipers<ref name="C&L04">Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. {{ISBN|0-8014-4141-2}}.</ref> and jumping vipers.<ref name="Meh87">Mehrtens JM. 1987. ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. {{ISBN|0-8069-6460-X}}.</ref> The genus name comes from the [[Nahuatl]] name ''metlapilcohuatl'', which means of the oblong grindstone held in the hand when grinding corn—alluding to the (edit "shape of its head which looks like the shape and size of the grindstone") (original "snake's short, stocky body.") I live in Costa Rica, and 2 different groups of herpetologist describe it that way online
==Description== All of these snakes are extremely thick-bodied, with ''[[Metlapilcoatlus nummifer|M. nummifer]]'' being the most stout. The head is large, with small eyes and a broadly rounded snout. The tail is short, not prehensile, and accounts for only 15% of the total length.<ref name="C&L04"/>
The color pattern usually consists of a gray-brown or reddish brown ground color (sometimes yellow, cream, purplish brown or black), overlaid with a series of lateral and dorsal blotches. The shape of these blotches is subject to some variation, but is sometimes still helpful for identification.<ref name="C&L04"/>
==Geographic range== Found in the mountains of eastern [[Mexico]] southeastward on the Atlantic versant and lowlands though [[Central America]] to central [[Panama]]. On the Pacific versant, they occur in isolated populations in east-central and southern Mexico, [[Guatemala]], [[El Salvador]], [[Costa Rica]] and Panama.<ref name="McD99">McDiarmid RW, [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], Touré T. 1999. ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1''. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).</ref>
==Behavior== The common name alludes to the supposed ability these snakes have to launch themselves at an attacker during a strike, thereby bridging a distance that is equal to or greater than the length of the body.<ref name="C&L04"/> Mehrtens (1987) states that they live up to their name, striking at their assailants with such force that they actually leave the ground.<ref name="Meh87"/> [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell]] and Lamar (2004), on the other hand, describe this as greatly exaggerated, saying that actually these snakes are only able to strike about half of their own body length. In addition, they describe them as slow moving and non-aggressive. However, when provoked all species will put on a rather dramatic open-mouthed threat display.<ref name="C&L04"/>
These snakes may be active both during the day and at night. On the other hand, populations found at higher altitudes seem to be active only during daylight hours and never at night.<ref name="C&L04"/>
==Feeding== Adults feed mainly on small [[mammal]]s and [[lizard]]s, while juveniles feed on [[orthopterans]] and [[skink]]s.<ref name="C&L04"/>
==Venom== Unlike most [[Viperidae|vipers]], members of this genus will strike and then hold on and chew. In one case, a machete was used to pry off the jaws. March (1929) wrote that ''M. mexicanus'' (''M. nummifer'') will hang on and make half a dozen punctures unless quickly and forcibly removed. However, the effects of the venom include only transient pain and mild swelling. In one part of Honduras the locals even insist that the snake (''M. nummifer'') is not venomous. Laboratory studies suggest that ''Metlapilcoatlus'' venoms are unlikely to lead to consumption coagulopathy and incoagulable blood in humans.
==Species== {|cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;" !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Image !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Species<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=585648 |taxon=Atropoides |access-date=2 November 2006}}</ref> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Taxon author<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Subsp.*<ref name="ITIS"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Common name<ref name="C&L04"/> !bgcolor="#f0f0f0"|Geographic range<ref name="McD99"/> |- | |''[[Metlapilcoatlus borealis|M. borealis]]''<ref>Tepos-Ramírez M, Flores-Villela F, Velasco JA, Pedraza-Lara P, García-Rubio OR, Jadin RJ. 2021. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Morphometrics Reveal a New Endemic Jumping Pitviper (Serpentes: Viperidae: Metlapilcoatlus) from the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico''. Journal of Herpetology. 55(2): 81-191. June 2021</ref> |[[Mauricio Tepos-Ramírez|Tepos-Ramírez]] ''et al''., 2021 |align="center"|0 |Boreal jumping pit viper |Mexico on the Sierra Madre Oriental, South of San Luis Potosí to Hidalgo and North of Veracruz. |- | |''[[Metlapilcoatlus indomitus|M. indomitus]]'' |[[Eric N. Smith|Smith]] & [[Jorge A. Ferrari Castro|Ferrari-Castro]], 2008 |align="center"|0 |Botaderos jumping pit viper |Sierra de Botaderos and La Muralla of [[Honduras]]. |- |- |[[File:Atropoides-nummifer-1a.jpg|200px]] |''[[Metlapilcoatlus mexicanus|M. mexicanus]]'' |[[André Marie Constant Duméril|Duméril]], [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]] & [[Auguste Duméril|Duméril]], 1854 |align="center"|0 |Central American jumping pit viper |Southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama. |- | |''[[Metlapilcoatlus nummifer|M. nummifer]]'' |[[Eduard Rüppell|Rüppell]], 1845 |align="center"|0 |Mexican jumping pit viper |style="width:40%"|Mexico, South of Veracruz to Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla. |- | |''[[Metlapilcoatlus occiduus|M. occiduus]]'' |[[Alphonse Richard Hoge|Hoge]], 1966 |align="center"|0 |Guatemalan jumping pit viper |Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador. |- | |''[[Metlapilcoatlus olmec|M. olmec]]'' |[[Gonzalo Pérez-Higareda|Pérez-Higareda]], [[Hobart Muir Smith|H.M. Smith]] & [[Jordi Juliá-Zertuche|Juliá-Zertuche]], 1985 |align="center"|0 |Tuxtlan jumping pit viper |Mexico on the upper slopes of the [[Sierra de Los Tuxtlas]] in southern [[Veracruz]]. |- |} ''*) Not including the [[nominate subspecies]].''<br> <span style="font-size:100%;"><sup>T</sup></span>) [[Type species]].<ref name="McD99"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * [[Douglas D. H. March|March DDH]]. 1929. Notes on ''Bothrops nummifera'', mano de piedra or timbo. Bulletin of the Antivenin Institute of America. 2(3): 58. * [[:fr:Johann Wilhelm von Müller|Müller JW von]]. 1865. ''Vol. 3. Reisen in den Vereinigten Staten, Canada und Mexico. Beitrage zur geschichte, statistik und zoologie von Mexico''. F.A. Brockhaus, Leipzig. xiv, pp. 595–619[613]. * [[Eduard Rüppell|Rüppell E.]] 1845. ''Verzeichnis der in dem Museum der Senckenbergischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft aufgestellten Sammlungen. Dritte Abteilung: Amphibien''. Museum Senckenbergianum 3: 293-318[313]. * [[Steven D. Werman|Werman SD]]. 1992. Phylogenetic relationships of Central and South American pitvipers of the genus ''Bothrops'' (sensu lato): cladistic analyses of biochemical and anatomical characters. pp. 21–40[21, 34]. ''In'' Campbell JA, Brodie Jr. ED. 1992. Biology of the Pitvipers. Texas: Selva. 467 pp. 17 plates. {{ISBN|0-9630537-0-1}}. {{refend}}
==External links== * {{NRDB genus|genus=Metlapilcoatlus|date=7 December|year=2007}} * Video: Herpetologist [[Austin Stevens]] [http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/austinstevens/videogallery/videooftheweek_103.html shares his canteen with a jumping pit viper] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20061102185149/http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/austinstevens/austinstevens.html Austin Stevens: Snakemaster]. Accessed 2 November 2006.
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[[Category:Metlapilcoatlus| ]] [[Category:Snake genera]]