Terciopelo

• Newborns use the bright yellow tip of their tail as a lure to draw in small prey.
• It eats small mammals, birds and amphibians, taken from ambush.
• It is reckoned the most prolific snake in the Americas, with as many as 90 young to a litter.
• fisiologíaIt accounts for a large share of the snakebites recorded in Central America, and its venom acts mainly on blood clotting and local tissue.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)

Habitat and environment

Tropical rainforest, farmland and lowlands of Mexico, Central America and northern South America

Birth weight

25-30 cm long at birth, the yellow tail tip used as a lure to draw in prey

Size at birth

25 - 30 cm long at birth

Sexual maturity

~3 years (the male at 99.5 cm, the female at 111.3 cm long)

Gestation / incubation

6-8 months (180-240 days), a viviparous species

Litter / clutch size

5 to 90 young per litter, reckoned the most prolific snake in the Americas

Life expectancy in captivity

Documented record of up to 20.4 years in captivity

Sources consulted: Instituto Clodomiro Picado · AnAge (genomics.senescence.info) · Storyteller Travel · Animal Diversity Web · Tico Travel · Delamazonas · Grokipedia (Bothrops asper) · Wikipedia (Bothrops asper) · Reptiles of Ecuador