Bothrops brazili
Bothrops brazili, or Brazil’s lancehead, is a venomous pit viper found in South America. There are no officially recognized subspecies, and the name brazili honors Dr. Vital Brazil, a Brazilian physician.
Description: This sturdy, ground-dwelling snake is usually 70–90 cm long, but some individuals grow over 140 cm, with the largest on record around 149 cm. In many populations, females are larger than males. The body color ranges from pinkish tan to pinkish or reddish gray, with a series of dark dorsolateral blotches that can form bands or resemble the letter C. The tail is the same color as the body and may be mostly black. The belly is yellow or pinkish cream with darker mottling. The head is typically lighter, and there may be a pale stripe from the eye to the mouth corner, bordered by a dark line.
Distribution and habitat: It lives in equatorial forests across southern Colombia, eastern Peru and Ecuador, southern and eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, and northern Bolivia. The type locality is Pará, Brazil.
Behavior and bites: B. brazili is a terrestrial snake. Bites have not been documented, but the species is greatly feared by some indigenous communities in southeastern Colombia.
Reproduction and taxonomy: It lays eggs (oviparous). There is variation in color and scalation between populations, so scientists may recognize new forms with more study.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:38 (CET).