Inca Forest Pit Viper (oligolepis)
Bothrops oligolepis (Werner, 1901)
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.

geographic distribution of Bothriopsis oligolepis (Native: Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Peru)
compiled by rbrausse with Quantum GIS Map data: Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Range data: Martins, M. & Lundberg, M. 2010. Bothriopsis oligolepis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 13 February 2013. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Common names: Peruvian forest-pitviper.
Bothrops oligolepis is a venomous pitviper species found in Peru and Bolivia. The specific name is derived from the Greek words oligo and lepis, meaning "few scales"; likely referring to the lower numbers of dorsal and ventral scales that it has compared to B. bilineatus. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Wikipedia contributors, Bothrops oligolepis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:21:57.402026+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bothrops oligolepis (Werner, 1901)
- Name authority
- (Werner, 1901)
- Common name
- Inca Forest Pit Viper (oligolepis)
- 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 oligolepis (Werner, 1901)
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 |
| 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lachesis peruvianus Boulenger, 1903 Boulenger, 1903 | synonym |
| Lachesis bilineatus var. oligolepis Werner, 1901 Werner, 1901 | 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=oligolepis 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.
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:MNZL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.