Clemson University, Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson, SC, USA.
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico.
Sci Data. 2022 May 25;9(1):232. doi: 10.1038/s41597-022-01323-4.
Beyond providing critical information to biologists, species distributions are useful for naturalists, curious citizens, and applied disciplines including conservation planning and medical intervention. Venomous snakes are one group that highlight the importance of having accurate information given their cosmopolitan distribution and medical significance. Envenomation by snakebite is considered a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization and venomous snake distributions are used to assess vulnerability to snakebite based on species occurrence and antivenom/healthcare accessibility. However, recent studies highlighted the need for updated fine-scale distributions of venomous snakes. Pitvipers (Viperidae: Crotalinae) are responsible for >98% of snakebites in the New World. Therefore, to begin to address the need for updated fine-scale distributions, we created VenomMaps, a database and web application containing updated distribution maps and species distribution models for all species of New World pitvipers. With these distributions, biologists can better understand the biogeography and conservation status of this group, researchers can better assess vulnerability to snakebite, and medical professionals can easily discern species found in their area.
物种分布不仅为生物学家提供了关键信息，对于自然学家、好奇的市民以及包括保护规划和医疗干预在内的应用学科也很有用。毒蛇是一个突出的群体，鉴于其世界性分布和医学意义，准确的信息非常重要。世界卫生组织将蛇伤中毒视为被忽视的热带病，毒蛇的分布被用来根据物种的出现和抗蛇毒血清/医疗保健的可及性来评估蛇伤中毒的脆弱性。然而，最近的研究强调了更新毒蛇精细分布的必要性。响尾蛇（蝰蛇科：响尾蛇亚科）在新世界造成了超过 98%的蛇伤。因此，为了开始满足更新精细分布的需求，我们创建了 VenomMaps，这是一个数据库和网络应用程序，包含了所有新世界响尾蛇物种的更新分布地图和物种分布模型。有了这些分布信息，生物学家可以更好地了解这一群体的生物地理学和保护状况，研究人员可以更好地评估蛇伤中毒的脆弱性，而医疗专业人员可以轻松识别其所在地区的物种。
