NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Urutu
Bothrops alternatus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Bothrops alternatus, known by the common names crossed pit viper, yarará grande, and urutu, among others, is a highly venomous pit viper species found in South America (Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina). Within its range, it is an important cause of a snakebite. The specific name, alternatus, which is Latin for "alternating", is apparently a reference to the staggered markings along its body. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Wikipedia contributors, Bothrops alternatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:20:24.091759+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bothrops alternatus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
- Name authority
- Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
- Common name
- Urutu
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Viperidae
- Genus
- Bothrops
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyViperidae
- subfamilyCrotalinae
- genusBothrops
- speciesBothrops alternatus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bothrops. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan's LanceheadBothrops jonathani Harvey, 1994 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brazilian LanceheadBothrops moojeni Hoge, 1966 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Franceses island-LanceheadBothrops sazimai Barbo, Gasparini, Almeida, Zaher, Grazziotin, Gusmão, Ferrarini & Sawaya, 2016 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bothrops monsignifer Timms, Chaparro, Venegas, Salazar-Valenzuela, Scrocchi, Cuevas, Leynaud & Carrasco, 2019 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bothrops oligobalius Dal Vechio, Prates, Grazziotin, Graboski & Rodrigues, 2021 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Jabre’s LanceheadBothrops jabrensis Barbo, Grazziotin, Pereira-Filho, Freitas, Abrantes & Kokubum, 2022 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Barba AmarillaBothrops atrox (Linnaeus, 1758) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Barnett's LanceheadBothrops barnetti Parker, 1938 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Green JararacaBothrops bilineatus (Wied-Neuwied, 1821) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| CotiaraBothrops cotiara (Gomes, 1913) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Caatinga LanceheadBothrops erythromelas (Amaral, 1923) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fonseca's LanceheadBothrops fonsecai Hoge & Belluomini, 1959 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lachesis alternatus Boulenger, 1896 Boulenger, 1896 | synonym |
| Lachesis inaequalis Magalhaes, 1925 Magalhaes, 1925 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Bothrops&species=alternatus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:MNWN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.