Lachesis melanocephala is a venomous pit viper species found in Costa Rica and Panama. No subspecies are currently recognized.[3][4]
Common names include black-headed bushmaster, [5] as well as cascabel muda ("silent rattlesnake") and matabuey in Spanish.
Adults frequently grow to 1.9–2 m (6.2–6.6 ft) in total length. The largest reported specimens were 2.3 m (7.5 ft) by Solórzano (2004), and 2.4 m (7.9 ft) by Ripa (2001).
The top of the head is uniform black in color,[5] to which the specific name, melanocephala, and common name refer to.
L. melanocephala is found in Costa Rica on the Pacific versant of southeastern Puntarenas province from near sea level to about 1500 m (about 4,900 feet). It is also found in Finca Hartmann in Panama's Chiriqui Province. The type locality given is "tropical rainforest 9 km northern of Ciudad Neily in southeastern Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica."[2]
Campbell and Lamar (2004) describe its range as southwestern Costa Rica and possibly extreme western Panama, but state that almost all locality records are from Puntarenas province.[5][6] Savage 2002 and Dwyer and Perez 2009 confirmed its existence in Panama.[1]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Lachesis melanocephala is a venomous pit viper species found in Costa Rica and Panama. No subspecies are currently recognized.
