# Porthidium

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Genus of snakes

Porthidium Porthidium nasutum, rainforest hognose pitviper Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Viperidae Subfamily: Crotalinae Genus: Porthidium Cope, 1871[1]

- ***Common names**: hognose pit vipers[2]*

***Porthidium*** is a [genus](/source/Genus) of [pit vipers](/source/Pit_viper) found in [Mexico](/source/Mexico) and southward to northern [South America](/source/South_America).[1] The name is derived from the [Greek](/source/Greek_language) word *portheo* and the suffix *-idus*, which mean "destroy" and "having the nature of", apparently a reference to the venom.[2] As of January 2026 nine [species](/source/Species) are recognized as being valid.[3][4] The snakes of the genus *[Hypnale](/source/Hypnale)* in southern [India](/source/India) and [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka) look quite similar to those of this genus, possibly an example of [convergent evolution](/source/Convergent_evolution).

## Description

*Porthidium* is a genus of small [species](/source/Species), adults ranging in total length (including tail) from 55 cm (22 in) (*[P. dunni](/source/Porthidium_dunni)* and *[P. yucatanicum](/source/Porthidium_yucatanicum)*) to 75 cm (30 in) (*[P. lansbergii](/source/Porthidium_lansbergii)* and *[P. ophryomegas](/source/Porthidium_ophryomegas)*). In addition, the body shape ranges from relatively slender (*P. ophryomegas*) to relatively stout (*[P. nasutum](/source/Porthidium_nasutum)*). All have a sharply defined *[canthus rostralis](/source/Canthus_(snake))* and a [rostral scale](/source/Rostral_scale) that is higher than it is broad. The tip of the snout may be slightly to moderately elevated (*[P. hespere](/source/Porthidium_hespere)*, *P. lansbergii*, *P. ophryomegas* and *[P. volcanicum](/source/Porthidium_volcanicum)*), strongly elevated (*P. dunni* and *P. yucatanicum*), or not elevated at all.[2] All species have a color pattern that usually consists of a brown or gray ground color, overlaid with a series of dark [paraventral](/source/Paraventral_scales) blotches that are separated by a pale and narrow vertebral stripe. The blotches are square, rectangular, or triangular in shape. In some species, the color pattern is determined by the sex.[2]

## Geographic range

Found in [Mexico](/source/Mexico) ([Colima](/source/Colima), [Oaxaca](/source/Oaxaca) and [Chiapas](/source/Chiapas) on the Pacific side, the [Yucatán Peninsula](/source/Yucat%C3%A1n_Peninsula) on the Atlantic side) southward through [Central America](/source/Central_America) to northern [South America](/source/South_America) ([Ecuador](/source/Ecuador) in the Pacific lowlands, northern [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela) in the Atlantic lowlands).[1]

## Species

Species[3][4][5] Taxon author[4][5] Subsp.*[4][5] Common name[2][5] Geographic range[1][5] P. arcosae Schätti & Kramer, 1993 0 Manabi hognose pit viper Coast of Ecuador P. dunni (Hartweg & Oliver, 1938) 0 Dunn's hognose pit viper Southern Mexico in the Pacific lowlands of Oaxaca and western Chiapas. P. hespere (Campbell, 1976) 0 Colima hognose pit viper Western Mexico (Colima). P. lansbergii (Schlegel, 1841) 2 Lansberg's hognose pit viper Extreme eastern Central America in the xeric coastal lowlands of central and eastern Panama. In northern South America in the Atlantic lowlands of Colombia and northern Venezuela, as well as the Pacific lowlands of Ecuador. P. nasutumT (Bocourt, 1868) 0 rainforest hognose pit viper Southern Mexico southward through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador in South America. Inhabits the Atlantic lowlands from Mexico (Tabasco and Chiapas) through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia. In the Pacific lowlands, it occurs in southwestern Costa Rica, central and eastern Panama, continuing on to northwestern Ecuador. It is found in mesic lowland broadleaf or rainforest from sea level to elevation of about 900 m. P. ophryomegas (Bocourt, 1868) 0 slender hognose pit viper Central America in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. P. porrasi Lamar, 2003 0 Weißschwanz-Stülpnasenotter Southwestern Costa Rica P. volcanicum Solórzano, 1994 0 Ujarran hognose pit viper Volcán de Buenos Aires and Valle del General in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. P. yucatanicum (H.M. Smith, 1941) 0 Yucatán hognose pit viper Northern half of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

**) Not including the [nominate subspecies](/source/Nominate_subspecies).* T) [Type species](/source/Type_species).[1]

*[Nota bene](/source/Nota_bene)*: A [binomial authority](/source/Binomial_nomenclature) in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than *Porthidium*.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-McD99_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-McD99_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-McD99_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-McD99_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-McD99_1-4) [McDiarmid RW](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Wallace_McDiarmid), [Campbell JA](/source/Jonathan_A._Campbell), [Touré TA](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/T%27Shaka_A._Tour%C3%A9) (1999). *Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1*. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-893777-00-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-893777-00-6) (series). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-893777-01-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-893777-01-4) (volume).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-C&L04_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-C&L04_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-C&L04_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-C&L04_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-C&L04_2-4) Campbell JA, [Lamar WW](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/William_W._Lamar) (2004). *The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere* Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp., 1500 plates. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8014-4141-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8014-4141-2).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) Carlos Patron-Rivero, Carlos Yañez-Arenas, Sara Ruane, Xavier Chiappa-Carrara, Octavio R Rojas-Soto, A comprehensive morphological database of hognose *Porthidium* pitvipers (Viperidae: Crotalinae), *Database*, Volume 2026, 2026, baaf085, https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baaf085

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ITIS_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ITIS_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ITIS_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-ITIS_4-3) ["*Porthidium*"](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=585667). [Integrated Taxonomic Information System](/source/Integrated_Taxonomic_Information_System). Retrieved 4 November 2006.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-RDB_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-RDB_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-RDB_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-RDB_5-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-RDB_5-4) Genus *[Porthidium](https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?genus=Porthidium&exact=genus&submit=Search)* at [The Reptile Database](http://www.reptile-database.org/) www.reptile-database.org.

## Further reading

- [Cope ED](/source/Edward_Drinker_Cope) (1871). "Ninth Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America". *Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia* **23** (2): 200–224. (*Porthidium*, new genus, p. 207).

Taxon identifiers Porthidium Wikidata: Q1569946 Wikispecies: Porthidium ADW: Porthidium CoL: 63PPM EoL: 34838 GBIF: 2444258 iNaturalist: 31008 IRMNG: 1290864 ITIS: 585667 NCBI: 44715 Open Tree of Life: 548987

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Porthidium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porthidium) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porthidium?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.