Green-yellow palm lance viper
| Green-yellow palm lance viper | ||||||||||||
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Green and yellow palm lance viper ( Bothriechis lateralis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Bothriechis lateralis | ||||||||||||
| Peters , 1862 |
The green and yellow palm lance viper ( Bothriechis lateralis ), also short palm lance viper , is a venomous snake from the family of vipers (Viperidae).
features
Green-yellow palm lance vipers grow to be 60 to 80, sometimes just over 100 centimeters long. Females become significantly larger than males. Palm lance vipers come in two color phases. The more common one is light green in color, with a white stripe usually running from the corner of the mouth along the body. The blue phase, on the other hand, has a green-blue shimmering tone and often does not have any lateral stripes.
The head is clearly separated from the slim body and is triangular or oval in shape, depending on gender. The females have a much more massive head than the rather small and oval heads of the males. The medium-sized eye has a perpendicular pupil. Palm lance vipers have a well-developed prehensile tail, which allows them to clasp the end of their tail around a branch in order to thrust forward at almost their full length.
distribution
The green and yellow palm lance viper lives almost exclusively in cloud forests and mountain rainforests in Costa Rica and Panama at altitudes of 1200 to 2300 meters, where it sometimes occurs up to 850 above sea level. It prefers the proximity of streams and stays mostly in the foliage of the trees and bushes. It occurs most frequently in coffee plantations, which makes it a hazard for plantation workers.
nutrition
They feed on mice , small birds , lizards and frogs . When a green and yellow palm lance viper has identified potential prey, it sneaks up, leaps forward at lightning speed and bites the prey. With the penetration of the fangs it presses in the deadly poison . After the prey animal is dead, she wraps it down like all the snakes in the whole piece.
Reproduction
Like all species of the genus, the green-yellow palm lance viper is viviparous ( Ovoviviparie ). The young snakes are already over 20 centimeters long at birth.
Toxicity
The poison of the green and yellow palm lance viper has tissue destructive and neurotoxic components. Accidents in which the otters bite people walking through the thick forest are relatively common. Many of them are fatal because the tree-dwelling way of life often bites the face and upper body.
literature
- Ludwig Trutnau: Poisonous snakes, snakes in the terrarium, Volume 2 , 1998, Ulmer Verlag, ISBN 3-8001-7371-9
