Sep 9, 2019
The incredibly beautiful and venemous side striped palm pit viper, Bothriechis lateralis! We saw this handsome snake on a night walk in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
seen from South Africa
seen from Russia
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from Philippines
seen from Kenya
seen from China
seen from Panama
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Sweden
seen from France
seen from Australia
seen from Pakistan
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from Israel
The incredibly beautiful and venemous side striped palm pit viper, Bothriechis lateralis! We saw this handsome snake on a night walk in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
SIDE STRIPED PALM VIPER (Bothriechis lateralis) by ©Laura Quick
We were lucky to spot this beauty coming down to the ground at night in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
This is an arboreal (tree-dwelling) pitviper confined to the mountainous regions of Costa Rica and Panama. Arboreal adaptations include its green color (great for camouflage!) and a prehensile tail that can grasp tree branches.
As a group, the palm-pitvipers tend to have isolated and fragmented populations in the mountains of Central America. The effects of habitat destruction and natural disasters make them vulnerable to extinction. (source)
Palm viper
(Bothriechis lateralis) Side-striped palm-pit viper
Most commonly found coiled in vegetation over or near watercourses; reported from 850 to 2,000 m elevation. Limited to Costa Rica, Nicaragua & Panama.
Mainly nocturnal, mainly arboreal; usually not aggressive & remain quietly coiled in vegetation, but will strike if brushed against or touched. Ovoviviparous w/ 6-17 young in litters reported for captured specimens. Preys mainly on small rodents, frogs, birds, & even (rarely) bats.
Mainly hemotoxic w/ strong proteolytic factors. Sometimes bites & envenomates humans, but typical symptoms usually limited to localized pain, swelling, redness, & occasionally dizziness, headache, photosensitivity, & difficulty breathing. Rare reports of human fatalities due to bites by this species have not yet been confirmed.
(Bothriechis lateralis) side-striped palm-pitviper
Mainly hemotoxic w/ strong proteolytic factors. Sometimes bites & envenomates humans, but typical symptoms usually limited to localized pain, swelling, redness, & occasionally dizziness, headache, photosensitivity, & difficulty breathing. Rare reports of human fatalities due to bites by this species have not yet been confirmed.
(Bothriechis lateralis) side-striped palm-pitviper
(Bothriechis lateralis) Side-striped palm-pit viper Mainly hemotoxic w/ strong proteolytic factors. Sometimes bites & envenomates humans, but typical symptoms usually limited to localized pain, swelling, redness, & occasionally dizziness, headache, photosensitivity, & difficulty breathing. Rare reports of human fatalities due to bites by this species have not yet been confirmed. A polyvalent antivenin that covers this species is produced by the Instituto Clodomiro in Costa Rica.