Scientific name: Lachesis muta

Biology

One of the largest venomous snakes, it is gray and brown with large diamond-shaped blotches on the back.A slender, burr-like arrangement of scales at the tip of the tail makes a sound like a rattlesnake when the snake is disturbed. The head has large venom glands and unusually long fangs.

The animals are night active. They spend the day in abandoned buildings of mammals or similar hiding places. The defense behavior marks itself by a vibrating tail point and a blown up neck. Size of average adult : up to 12 feet View larger image

Quiet and shy, not very common
Injects large amounts of a rather weak venom

Heat-seeking pits on the head respond to changes as small as 0.002 degrees Celsius and are able to locate prey whose temperatures differ from surroundings by as little as 0.1 degrees Celsius

Reproduction

Egg-laying
Only viper in the Americas that lays eggs
The reproduction time is usually in May and the babies are approx. 30 cm long.

Venom
Anti-clotting

Feeding
Mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits

Habitat
Forests and tropics

Distribution View Map
Central and South America