A new species of <i>Hepatozoon</i> in the common lancehead snake ( <i>Bothrops atrox</i> ) from the Eastern Amazonia region

Although venomous snakes from the family Viperidae, such as <i>Bothrops atrox</i>, are recognized for their medical importance due to snakebite accidents, few studies on parasitological aspects have been carried out with them, especially in the Amazonia region. Using morphological and molecular tools, we described a novel haemogregarine species infecting the common lancehead snake <i>B. atrox</i> from Eastern Amazonia, Brazil. <i>Hepatozoon atrocis</i> sp. nov. has mature gamonts that are morphologically distinct from those reported in the literature, which are often compact, with dispersed or encapsulated cytoplasm and chromatin. In the phylogeny recovered from the 18S rRNA gene, the <i>Hepatozoon atrocis</i> sp. nov. sequences formed a new clade, comprising a sister group to <i>Hepatozoon</i> spp. detected in other snakes, anurans, lizards and marsupials. This study reports the first <i>Hepatozoon</i> species described in the common lancehead snake. In addition, it provides a robust review of haemogregarine species infecting viperids from all over the world.