Prettiest Viper of All

I went to Costa Rica with Dr. Hays Cummins over the summer and we came across a lot of snakes. This one is my favorite and it was the first venomous snake I saw in the wild. I was walking to dinner on the second day and right off the path was a dark brown eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii). I was so excited that I got a little too close for the comfort of my friend walking with me and was quickly pulled away. I think we must have seen twenty of them over the two weeks we were there, but it was exciting every time.

Eyelash vipers have huge variability in their coloration and can be bright yellow to dark brown. They are found throughout Central and South America. They are a pit viper and have a thermal pit between the nostril and eye. They are ambush predators and will wait in one place and usually eat frogs or small lizards. They are aboreal and mostly nocturnal. Eyelash vipers ovoviviparious and give birth to about 10 live young.

(Posted by Madeleine Burnett)