Bothrops moojeni explained

Bothrops moojeni, commonly known in English as the Brazilian lancehead, is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae.[1] It is a pit viper endemic to South America.

Etymology

The specific name, moojeni, is in honor of Brazilian zoologist João Moojen de Oliveira (1904–1985).[2]

Description and Behavior

Grows on average 160 cm, with a maximum of 230 cm already reported, has a tan, gray-brown or olive-gray color, with fourteen to twenty-one trapezoidal side marks that are dark gray or completely black, 23 to 29 lines of dorsal scale of the average body, with the belly usually white or cream with dark gray spots scattered, while juveniles have a white tail. It is terrestrial, of nocturnal habits.[3]

It is considered very defensive.[4] Its body is viscous, varying from medium to heavy, broad head, flattened in a lance when seen from above and distinct from the narrow neck, the snout is not elevated, the eyes are medium in size, with elliptical pupils vertically, while the scales back are keeled.[5] B. moojeni is viviparous. Gestation lasts around four months, occurs once a year and 12 to 14 puppies are usually born. Live an average of 15 years.[6] It feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards, snakes and amphibians.

Geographic range and habitat

B. moojeni is found in northern Argentina, eastern Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.

The type locality is Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil. B. moojeni inhabits Araucaria moist forests and the Cerrado.[7]

Common names

In South America common names for B. moojeni include caiçaca, caissaca, caiçara, jacuruçu, and jararacão.

Venom

Its venom has hemolytic and proteolytic action.[8] B. moojeni venom contains a wide variety of enzymes, such as acidic phospholipase, base A phospholipase, metalloproteinases, serine proteinases, L-amino acid oxidase, and a myotoxin phospholipase A2. The myotoxin phospholipase A2 causes necrosis in muscle fibers, releasing creatine kinase.[9] Symptoms may include intense local pain, edema, muscular necrosis. The venom has an anticoagulant effect on the blood, makes the blood uncoagulable, causes severe hemorrhage and strokes.[10] [11]

Moojenactivase, a procoagulant metalloproteinase is capable to induce DIC with a high toxic potency, characterized by prolongation of Prothrombin and activated partial thromboplastin time, consumption of fibrinogen and the plasma coagulation factors like Factor X and II, and thrombocytopenia, it also caused Intravascular hemolysis.[12] The venom has a lethal dose of 0.205 mg / kg for horses.[13] The average yield for an adult female is 335 mg, 63 mg for newborns, specimens from Minas Gerais, Brazil have been reported to be 118 mg, specimens from Argentina have a yield of 248.0 ± 37 mg.

A serine protease was determined by de novo mass spectrometry-based sequencing.[14]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. [:fr:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]
  2. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Bothrops moojeni, p. 182).
  3. Web site: Bothrops moojeni . Living Hazards Database (LHD) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170702174255/https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/afpmb/docs/lhd/venomous_animals_byspecies.pdf . 2 July 2017 .
  4. Web site: Jararaca-caiçaca – ZOO. 2020-10-11. pt-BR.
  5. Web site: WCH Clinical Toxinology Resources. 2020-11-26. www.toxinology.com.
  6. Web site: Bothrops moojeni - Disciplina - Biologia. 2020-09-15. www.biologia.seed.pr.gov.br.
  7. Borges RC, Araujo AFB (1998). "Seleção de habitat em duas espécies de jararaca (Bothrops moojeni Hoge e B. neuwiedi Wagler) (Serpentes: Viperidae)". Revista Brasileira de Biologia 58 (4): 591-601. (in Portuguese).
  8. Web site: Caiçaca. 2020-09-15. zoologia.comunidades.net.
  9. Queiroz. M. R.. Mamede. C. C.. Fonseca. K. C.. Canabrava. Lcmn. França. L. V.. Silva. M. C.. Stanziola. L.. Beletti. M. E.. Canabrava. H. a. N.. Oliveira. F. . 2011 . Biological characterization of a myotoxin phosphoplipase A2 homologue purified from the venom of the snake Bothrops moojeni. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins Including Tropical Diseases. 17. 1. 49–58. 10.1590/S1678-91992011000100007 . free.
  10. Web site: Jararaca-caiçaca – ZOO. 2020-09-15. pt-BR.
  11. Web site: Folha de S.Paulo - Proteína de serpente pode deter trombose - 25/07/2005. 2020-09-15. www1.folha.uol.com.br.
  12. Sartim. Marco A.. Cezarette. Gabriel N.. Jacob-Ferreira. Anna L.. Frantz. Fabiani G.. Faccioli. Lucia H.. Sampaio. Suely V.. October 2017. Disseminated intravascular coagulation caused by moojenactivase, a procoagulant snake venom metalloprotease. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 103. 1077–1086. 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.05.146. 1879-0003. 28552727.
  13. Sousa. Melina Garcia de. Tokarnia. Carlos Hubinger. Brito. Marilene de Farias. Reis. Alessandra Belo. Oliveira. Carlos Magno. Freitas. Nayra Fernanda. Oliveira. Cairo Henrique. Barbosa. José Diomedes. September 2011. Clinical and pathological aspects of the experimental poisoning by Bothrops snakes in horses. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira. 31. 9. 773–780. 10.1590/S0100-736X2011000900009 . free.
  14. König . Simone . Obermann . Wolfgang M. J. . Eble . Johannes A. . The Current State-of-the-Art Identification of Unknown Proteins Using Mass Spectrometry Exemplified on De Novo Sequencing of a Venom Protease from Bothrops moojeni . Molecules . January 2022 . 27 . 15 . 4976 . 10.3390/molecules27154976 . 35956926 . 9370501 . en . 1420-3049. free .

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