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Eyelash Viper — printable fact sheet
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Eyelash Viper
Bothriechis schlegelii
Bothriechis schlegelii is a small arboreal pit viper of Central and northern South America named for the cluster of modified scales that stand up above each eye like lashes. Their function is unresolved, but the leading suggestions are that they shield the eye as the snake pushe…
Did you know?
- Despite their small size and delicate appearance, Eyelash Vipers can deliver a venomous bite that is potentially dangerous to humans.
- Juvenile eyelash vipers use caudal luring, twitching a contrastingly coloured tail tip to imitate a grub and draw a frog or lizard into range, then striking — the tail loses its lure colour as the snake grows and switches to hunting endotherms. The golden oropel morph is startlingly conspicuous but appears to be no more likely to be eaten, and it may be mistaken for a hanging flower or fruit. A snake will return to the same ambush branch year after year if the flowers keep coming. Its venom is haemotoxic and its bite is medically serious but only rarely fatal.
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