Side Striped Palm Viper, Bothriechis lateralis Peters, 1862. Photographed in Costa Rica. Adult maximum length 950 mm. Inhabits Wet forests and rainforests in the mountain ranges of Costa Rica and western Panama. Arboreal and frequently found along streams, females come to the forest floor to give birth. Young feed on anoles and small frogs which are lured to the snake using its tail. This species is the sister to the eyelash viper, B. schlegelii.
The Eyelash Viper, Bothriechis schlegelii (Berthold, 1864). Photographed in Costa Rica. Ranges from Mexico to Peru in lowland and montane wet forests, but it also uses tree plantations, and almost any wooded area. Adult maximum length is 979 mm. Feeds on small vertebrates. As evident from the photos this species is very polymorphic in terms of its color and pattern, some specimens are exceptionally cryptic, while others are bright yellow. In Costa Rica the bright yellow morphs are called "oropel," and the other morphs are called "bocaraca." Human deaths have been caused by this snake but mortality is about 5% of the bites.
David Warrell has summarized the information on the bites of this species in Campbell and Lamar (2004, The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere). He writes:
"Several members of a trail gang cutting through the jungle in Honduras died after being bitten on the hands and face by this species...In Costa Rica in 1979, B. schlegelii was responsible for 90 of 477 snakebite cases (18.9%)....At one time this species caused three to six deaths per year in Costa Rica. Four of a series of 27 autopsied snakebite cases in Jan Jose, Costa Rica were attributed to this species...In southwestern Costa Rica, 7 of 166 cases of snake bites in children were attributed to this species... Of 10 Costa Rican pitviper venoms studied...those of Bothriechis schlegelii and Bothrops asper were the most myotoxic."
The Urutu, Bothrops alternatus Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, 1854. A captive specimen of unknown origin. Ranges from southeastern Brazil south and west into Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. Occurs in low, swampy and riparian habitats in temperate through tropical forests. Adult maximum length is 1.69 m, larger snakes have been reported but not measured. Responsible for many bites, but rarely does death result.
The Terciopelo, Bothrops asper (Garman, 1884). Photographed in Trinidad. Top photo from Mt. Tucuche, bottom photo a male from the Arima Valley. Ranges from southern Mexico throughout Central America and into northern South America, southward to Ecuador and northeast to Venezuela and Trinidad. It uses rainforests and forest edge habitats as well as human modified environments. It will enter yards and gardens. Adult maximum length is probably about 2.5 m. This snake and Bothrops atrox have been long confused, and continue to be confused. This is a large, aggressive snake that is responsible for many bites that have resulted in human deaths. Males (bottom photo) tend to be smaller in length and more gracile in build, than females (top photo). A paper by F. E. Russell et al. (1997 Toxicon, 35:1469-1522) suggests that bites from this snake cause pain, local swelling, bruising that spreads, numbness, mild fever, bleeding from the gums and nostrils, hemoptysis, gastrointestinal bleeding, hypotension, nausea, vomitting, impaired consciousness and splenic tenderness. Necrosis often occurs and may require amputation.
Central American Bushmaster, Lachesis stenophrys Cope, 1875. Photographs of captives in Cost Rica. Ranges from Nicaragua southward to Colombia and Ecuador. Uses primary rainforest. This huge pit viper may reach and adult maximum length of 3.9 m. Its diet is primarily spiny rats. Females lay clutches of 10-12 eggs that hatch in about 60 days. Bites are rare, but the venom is very toxic and produced in relatively large amounts. The mortality rate is estimated at 75%.
