Black-Speckled Palm-Pit Viper

Black-speckled palm-pit viper is a venomous pit viper species found in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama. No subspecies are currently recognized. The specific name is derived from the Latin niger (black) and viridis (green) in reference to its distinctive color pattern.

Scientific name: Bothriechis nigroviridis 

Family: Viperidae Family

Common name: black-speckled palm-pit viper

Small snake with an average length of 45 to 50 cm. The body is thin and moderately robust, with a large, broad head well differentiated from the neck. An arboreal species, but it can also be found on the ground and at the base of trees and bushes. Active mainly at night, but it also moves during the day. 

Relatively uncommon, found in Costa Rica and Panama. In Costa Rica it can only be found in subtropical and temperate rainforests of the Cordillera de Tilaran (heights of Monteverde), and on the southwest of the Cordillera Central and Cordillera de Talamanca at heights between 1350 and 3000 m of altitude.

Black-Speckled Palm-Pit Viper

Black-speckled Palm-Pit vipers are emerald green to less commonly yellow-green like this one and heavily speckled and mottled with black on their back and sides. They are mostly unspeckled below and have a black line behind their eyes. Their eyes are dark and speckled and have the vertically elliptical pupils that are characteristic of pit vipers. Their flexible, coiling tails are prehensile and aid them in their tree climbing lifestyle.

It is found in the mountains in high montane forest, lower montane wet forest and cloud forest on both the Atlantic and Pacific slopes. It has a limited range and is generally considered relatively rare. It is arboreal, although it can be seen in the floor or the base of trees and shrubs; their activity is mainly nocturnal but also mobilises during the day.

Disregarding it is a venomous species, this viper is not aggressive and can be handled with caution (please don't try it if you don't know what you are doing). Fatal bites have been reported, and the usual bite symptoms include intense pain, nausea and asphyxia.