Highland Eyelash-Pitviper

About the Highland Eyelash-Pitviper

Bothriechis schlegelii, known commonly as the highland eyelash-pitviper, Schlegel's eyelash-pitviper, eyelash viper or eyelash palm viper, is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae, native to Colombia. Somewhat small, arboreal snakes, B. schlegelii is perhaps best known for the namesake superciliary ("eyelash") scales above its eyes, and for having distinctly keeled or "raised" scales covering the bulk of its body. The species is also known for producing a veritable rainbow of color forms (morphs).

No subspecies are currently recognized as being valid. Historically, a montane form was recognized by some authorities, which was treated either as a subspecies (B. s. supraciliaris) or as a species (B. supraciliaris). Found in the province of San José in Costa Rica, it was sometimes referred to as the eyelash mountain viper, while more recent publications recognizing the species designation refer to it as the blotched palm-pitviper.

Although considered to likely contain multiple species for some time, the great variety of colour patterns in the species has previously made this difficult to verify.In 2024, a systematic revision of B. schlegelii through DNA-sequencing... Wikipedia →