Reptiles · Squamata · Viperidae

Jararaca

Bothrops jararaca

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Bothrops jararaca is a venomous snake of the subfamily Crotalinae endemic to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The species' scientific name derives from the Tupi yarará and ca: 'great snake'. Within its range it is abundant and an important cause of snakebite. No subspecies are recognised.

Size

70 cm – 1.6 m

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestTemperate forestGrasslandCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Reptile Rainforest Temperate forest Grassland

7countries 16parks22same family

Fun facts

GeneralThe first blood-pressure drugs were developed from its venom.
Captopril came from its venom: in the 1960s the Brazilian researcher Sérgio Ferreira identified peptides in it that lowered blood pressure, and that finding gave rise to the first ACE inhibitor and to the whole family of antihypertensive drugs that millions of people take today.
Juveniles have a pale tail tip that they wriggle like a worm to lure in frogs and lizards, a decoy they lose as they grow and change diet.
It is responsible for most snakebites in Brazil, not through aggression but through abundance: it lives in crops and on the urban fringes of the south-east, the most densely populated region of the country.