---
title: "Common Lancehead"
description: "Bothrops atrox — Rettili. 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."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/common-lancehead
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Common Lancehead

> Bothrops atrox — Rettili. 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.

- Scientific name: *Bothrops atrox*
- Category: `reptiles` (Rettili)
- Habitats: `forest` (Foresta), `jungle` (Giungla)
- iNaturalist observations: 3130
- Wikidata: [Q900848](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q900848)
- iNaturalist taxon: [49001](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49001)

## Names

- en: Common Lancehead
- de: Caicaca
- es: Mapaná
- fr: Fer-de-lance commun
- nl: Lanspuntslang
- pt: Jararaca-do-norte
- pl: Żararaka lancetowata

## Countries with the most observations

GF (602), BR (509), CO (414), EC (407), PE (369), TT (246), SR (163), VE (79), GY (76), BO (55)

## Summary

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.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bothrops_atrox

## Photo

![Common Lancehead](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-lancehead/medium.jpg)

Photo: Whaldener Endo · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/315923331

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-lancehead?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).