Southern American Bushmaster-World's Largest Pit Viper

Southern American bushmasters are venomous pit vipers found in South America. They are the third longest venomous snakes in the world and world's largest Pit Viper. Their head is broad and distinct from the narrow neck. The snout is broadly rounded. The color pattern consists of a yellowish, reddish or grey-brown ground color, overlaid with a series of dark brown or black dorsal blotches; these blotches form lateral inverted triangles of the same color. The lateral pattern may be precisely or indistinctly defined, normally pale at the center.

Range and Habitat

The South American Bushmaster snake can be found in the Northern regions of  South America, east of the Andes. Their range also extends up into parts of Central America. They can be found in countries such as Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Bolivia and Brazil. They can also be found on the island of Trinidad. Their range extends up into Central America into Panama and Costa Rica. These snakes like to live in dense forested areas that receive a lot of rainfall. The can be found on the foothills of mountains all the way to the coastline.Southern American bushmasters are very secretive and lead a solitary life. They are crepuscular and prefer to hunt after dark. Like most New World pit vipers, South American bushmasters exhibit defensive tail vibration behavior in response to potential predatory threats. They vibrate their tail vigorously when alarmed, but have no rattle and were therefore called 'mutus' (later 'muta'), which is Latin means dumb or mute. However, when in the undergrowth, their tail actually makes quite a loud rustling noise.

Diet and Behaviours

The South American Bushmaster is a nocturnal hunter. They primarily prey on small mammals with rodents making up the bulk of their diet. This diet is supplemented with the occasional bird and reptile. They are an ambush predator. This means that they conceal themselves and wait motionless for a meal to come to them. Once in range, the snake will strike and inject venom into the unsuspecting animal.

The South American Bushmaster snake has extremely sensitive heat sensing pits that are located between their eyes and nostrils. These pits are used for sensing infrared heat and allow the snakes to detect warm blooded prey. When threatened, these snakes will ‘rattle’ their tail against the floor. They do not have a rattle on their tail like a rattlesnake, so they use the same technique as many of the North American Colubrids.

Mating Habits

The South American Bushmaster snake reaches maturity at around 4 years of age. The male tracks down a female by following a scent trail. These snakes are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs as opposed to giving live birth. This is the only Pit Viper in the Americas that actually lay eggs. A clutch size can range anywhere from 5 to 18 eggs.

It can take the eggs anywhere from 60-80 days to hatch. During this entire time, the female is very protective of the eggs and will remain with them, rarely leaving the nest. When the babies hatch from the egg, they measure around 1-1.5ft in length.

Venom

The venom yield of the South American Bushmaster snake is very large. They are capable of producing up to 8 times more venom than the Copperhead. The venom itself isn’t as toxic as other Viper species but the sheer volume that they can inject is what makes this snake so deadly.

They have a haemotoxic venom. This venom works by attacking the circulatory system, destroying red blood cells and can cause organ degeneration. The venom can cause massive tissue damage and can lead to necrosis. Other effects of the venom include nausea, vomiting, severe pain and chills.