Tropical Pit Vipers by: Jason McCauley

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Tropical Pit Vipersby Jason McCauley

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The Eyelash Viper

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Characteristics

• Nocturnal
• Viviparous
• Carnivores, eats small animals, lizards and birds
• Live all over South and Central America

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Characteristics Continued

• Are arboreal, prefer wet forests with low
  elevation
• 18-30 in length
• Can be yellow, grayish brown or green
• An enlarged scales above each eye that
  distinguishes them from any other snake

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Special Adaptations

• Have a prehensile tail that allows them to hang
  from a branch while eating or hunting
• The eyelashes help them to blend in with
  surrounding foliage
• Can go up to one year without eating

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Venom

• Has neurotoxic and hemotoxic properties
• A small viper so its not considered lethal

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The Bushmaster (Lachesis muta)

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Characteristics

• Largest pit vipers in the Americas reaching 12
  in length
• Most deadly of the pit vipers
• Oviparous
• Found in relatively cool, moist tropical forests
• Flattened bodies with broad wedge-shaped heads
• Dark brown or black diamond-shaped patterns on
  back

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Special Adaptations

• Hinged fangs that rest on roof of mouth when not
  in use due to the size of them (1.4)
• When agitated it can shake the bony spur on the
  end of its tail against foliage to make a
  threatning sound

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Venom

• Are mildly hemotoxic and neurotoxic but can
  inject 411 mg of venom with one bite

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The Fer-De-Lance (Bothrops asper)

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Characteristics

• Common in Central America, South America and the
  West Indies
• Up to 2 m in length
• Very aggressive ambush predator
• Has a rich brown and gray color
• Eat lizards, frogs, birds and small mammals
• Are oviparous

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Characteristics Continued

• Live along edges of forest in trees and on the
  ground
• nocturnal

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Special Adaptations

• Can have a clutch size of over 100 young
• Has a yellow tip tail that it possibly uses to
  lure prey

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Venom

• Lethal hemotoxic venom
• Responsible for the most fatal snake bites in
  Central America

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Works Cited

• http//www.aqua.org/animals/species/venom/eyelash.
  html
• http//www.tennis.org/Amazing/eyelash_viper.html
• http//www.bio.ilstu.edu/armstrong/crtrip/crimages
  /fer-de-lance.htm

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Works Cited

• http//www.animalsoftherainforest.org/ferdelance.h
  tm
• http//www.nashvillezoo.org/eyelash.htm