Fer-de-Lance

Snakes

• Bothrops lanceolatus, the Martinique lancehead (some apply "fer-de-lance" to this species only).
• B. caribbaeus, the Saint Lucia lancehead.
• B. atrox, the common lancehead, native to tropical South America east of the Andes and to Trinidad.
• B. asper, the terciopelo or Central American lancehead, native to Central and northwestern South America.

Lacépède originally applied the name to all of these snakes, which he considered conspecific. Thus older writings, as well as popular and sometimes scientific writings (including the American Heritage, Merriam-Webster, and New Shorter Oxford dictionaries), still often call them "fer-de-lance." However, many scientists and hobbyists now restrict this name to the Martinican species and use the common names given here for the others.

Other

• Fer-de-Lance (book), for the 1934 Nero Wolfe novel by Rex Stout.
• Fer-de-Lance (comics), for the Marvel super-villain.
• The title of a 1974 movie starring David Janssen.
• Type of spaceship from the popular computer game Elite.
• The name of a sports car in the popular Xbox 360 game Saint's Row