Genus Bothrops

The genus Bothrops belong to the large family of snakes called Viperidae (vipers). They are among the most venomous in the world. They are found in the tropical and subtropical jungles and savannas of Central and South America. All of them have a cytotoxic and hemotoxic venom, which destroys tissue cells in large numbers, causing necrosis and blood clots as sometimes amputation of hand or foot are required. In some cases, the patient dies of kidney failure if the envenomation becomes systemic. The symptoms caused by a bite are fever, headache, vomiting, and high blood pressure.

Physical characteristics

Their length ranges from 70 cm to 1.90 m long (about 6 ft). Bothrops snakes have triangular head and sharp-angled snout, pointing upwards. They have retractable fangs, which means they fold back when they close their mouth, but they do not have rattle. They all have ventral and subcaudal scales as their skin have brown, grey, green and yellowish irregular markings, with the main one looking like an inverted 'V' (Λ).

There are more than thirty species of the genus Bothrops. The Brothrops alternatus, asper, amoditoides, atrox, and jararacussu are the most common and widely distributed species of this genus.

Below, a Bothrops asper, the species that inhabits the Central American jungle.