South American Bushmaster
Lachesis m. muta
-2.15, -77.69
Field Notes
Description:
These large vipers are one of the longest venomous snakes in the world. They are commonly found in the 6-8 foot range. The largest I have caught was just short of 8". The one pictured was 228 cm. Their body is yellow brown with black markings that are broad at the spine and come down to a point near the ventral scales. Some have much more black in these wedges than others. The skin is rough as the scales are heavily keeled to where it is really rough to run your hand over them.
Habitat:
This snake was found along a jungle trail in secondary forest in the Amazon Rainforest of SE Ecuador (700 masl).
Notes:
These are normally found deep in the Amazon rainforest, but occasionally get too near a village. They are normally encountered by those hunting far from their village. It is the only viper in the western hemisphere that lays eggs. I have personally only caught 3 of these but have handled many more. The first I caught was an 8-footer. Amazing animals. I have not found them aggressive unless startled. Nowhere near the temperament of the lanceheads of Ecuador. There are not as many "reported" cases of death from bushmasters as from the common lancehead, but part of the reason for that is that most victims don't survive long enough to get out to where it can be reported or treated.
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