:''Common names: side-striped palm pitviper side-striped palm viper,
a

. Accessed 27 November 2006. more.'' ''Bothriechis lateralis'' is a

pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . or pit adders, are a subfamily (biology), subfamily of Viperidae, vipers found in Asia and the ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

found in the mountains of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and western

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Description

Adult specimens may exceed , but are usually less than in length. These are relatively slender snakes and have a prehensile tail. Bothriechis lateralis 345985141

The color pattern consists of an emerald green to bluish green ground color, overlaid with a series of yellow alternating paravertebral vertical bars. Some of the scales adjacent to the yellow in this pattern may be blue or black-tipped. The belly is a uniform yellowing-green, bordered on either side by a pale yellow stripe running along the lower portion of the

paraventral scales In snakes, the paraventral scales are the longitudinal rows of dorsal scales that contact the ventral scales. These are the first rows of dorsal scales on either side of the body and are usually slightly larger than the scales located more dorsall ...

and the extreme lateral part of the

ventral scales In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

. The head is uniformly green on top and a blue or blue-gray postocular stripe may be present. If a postocular stripe is present, it is weakly defined, especially in large adults. The iris is yellow.Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . Juvenile specimens are usually brown with dark brown markings on the head, bronze irises, postocular stripes, paravertebral makings that are edged with yellow, and a tail tip that is yellow or

chartreuse Chartreuse () may refer to: Common meanings * Chartreuse (liqueur), a French liqueur * Chartreuse (color), a yellow-green color named after the liqueur * Grande Chartreuse, the original Carthusian monastery Other uses * Chartreuse (dish), a ...

. Captive juveniles retain this color pattern for about six months, after which the ground color starts to become a dull lime green and the yellow edges of the paravertebral vertical bars more prominent. It is thought that the shift to adult coloration takes about 18–24 months to complete. Like many green snakes, captive adults tend to become blue over time, although blue specimens are sometimes found in the wild.

Common names

Side-striped palm-pitviper, side-striped palm viper, green palm viper,Green Palm Viper (''Bothriechis lateralis'')
a
Cloud Forest Alive
. Accessed 27 November 2006. yellow-lined palm viper and parrot viper

Geographic range

Found in the mountains of

and western

, including the

Cordillera de Tilarán Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean. The area is 51,100& ...

, the

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

and the

Cordillera de Talamanca The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

to the provinces of

Chiriquí Province Chiriquí () is a province of Panama located on the western coast; it is the second most developed province in the country, after Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km2, with a population of 47 ...

and

Veraguas Veraguas () is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers an area of 10,587.6&n ...

. Occurs at 850–980 m altitude. The type locality is listed as "Costa Rica vom Vulcan Barbo olcán Barba... und .. Veragua" anama

Habitat

Occurs in lower

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

, lower montane wet forest, and lower montane

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. Although this species is able to survive is some areas that have been altered for agricultural purposes, such as coffee plantations, it seems they are slowly disappearing from these places. On the other hand, it is common in some protected areas, where populations appear to be doing quite well.

Behavior

This is an arboreal species that spends its time in the thick foliage of forest trees and shrubbery. It is often found at the base of palm fronds. These snakes prefer to remain coiled and still, relying on their camouflage to avoid detection, rather than defending themselves aggressively. However, they will strike quickly if touched.

Feeding

The prehensile tail is not only used as an anchor when resting, but also when it strikes out to grasp its prey, which consists of small birds, rodents, lizards and frogs.

Venom

Bites can be serious, but fatalities are rare. A polyvalent antivenin that covers this species is produced by the Instituto Clodomiro Picado in Costa Rica.''Bothriechis lateralis''
a
Munich AntiVenom INdex
Accessed 27 November 2006.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1552229 Reptiles described in 1862 lateralis Reptiles of Panama Reptiles of Costa Rica Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters