NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Barba Amarilla
Bothrops atrox (Linnaeus, 1758)
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 atrox — also known as the common lancehead, fer-de-lance, barba amarilla, and mapepire balsain — is a highly venomous pit viper species found in the tropical lowlands of northern South America east of the Andes, as well as the Caribbean island of Trinidad. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Wikipedia contributors, Bothrops atrox; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:33.919778+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bothrops atrox (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Barba Amarilla
- 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 atrox (Linnaeus, 1758)
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 |
| UrutuBothrops alternatus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Bothrops sabinii Gray, 1842 Gray, 1842 | synonym |
| Coluber atrox Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Trigonocephalus colombiensis Hallowell, 1845 Hallowell, 1845 | synonym |
| Bothrops lanceolatus aidae Sandner Montilla, 1981 Sandner Montilla, 1981 | synonym |
| Bothrops lanceolatus nacaritae Sandner Montilla, 1990 Sandner Montilla, 1990 | synonym |
| Trigonocephalus asper Garman, 1883 Garman, 1883 | ambiguous synonym |
| Bothrops subscutatus Gray, 1842 Gray, 1842 | synonym |
| Coluber lanceolatus Lacépède, 1789 Lacépède, 1789 | ambiguous synonym |
| Bothrops atrox aidae Vanzolini, 1986 Vanzolini, 1986 | synonym |
| Bothrops neuvoiedii venezuelenzi Briceño, 1934 Briceño, 1934 | synonym |
| Bothrops affinis Gray, 1849 Gray, 1849 | ambiguous synonym |
| Bothrops asper Garman, 1883 Garman, 1883 | ambiguous synonym |
| Bothrops furia Wagler, 1824 Wagler, 1824 | synonym |
| Bothrops isabelae Sandner Montilla, 1979 Sandner Montilla, 1979 | 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=atrox 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:MNWY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.