How to Identify the Eyelash Viper (Identification Guide)
The Eyelash Viper is a small, brightly variable arboreal pit viper best identified by the distinctive raised scales above its eyes resembling eyelashes.
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Key identifying features
The Eyelash Viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) is a small, arboreal pit viper native to Central and South America, instantly recognizable by the modified, raised scales projecting above each eye that resemble eyelashes. This feature, combined with its prehensile tail and vivid range of color variations, makes it one of the most visually distinctive pit vipers in its range.
Coloration & pattern
Eyelash Vipers show extraordinary color variability, even within the same population. Common morphs include mottled green, yellow (sometimes called the "golden" morph), gray, brown, pink, and reddish individuals, often with darker mottled or speckled patterning overlaid on the base color. Some individuals display irregular blotches or a fairly uniform coloration, and no single color pattern can be relied upon exclusively for species identification, though the eyelash scales remain constant across all color forms.
Head, eyes & scales
The head is triangular and clearly distinct from the neck, with heat-sensing pits located between the eye and nostril. The supraocular scales are enlarged and upturned into spiny, lash-like projections above each eye, a feature not found in most other pit vipers. Pupils are vertically elliptical. Body scales are keeled, giving a slightly rough texture.
Size & body shape
Eyelash Vipers are small compared to most pit vipers, with adults typically reaching only 18 to 30 inches in length. The body is slender and laterally compressed, well suited to an arboreal lifestyle, and the tail is prehensile, used to grip branches and vegetation while climbing.
Range & habitat where you'll see it
This species ranges from southern Mexico through Central America into Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It is primarily arboreal, found in lowland and montane rainforest, often coiled on low branches, vines, broad leaves, or perched near fruit clusters and flowers where it can encounter prey. It is well camouflaged against mossy or flowering vegetation depending on its color morph.
How to tell it apart from look-alikes
Other Bothriechis species, such as the Side-striped Palm-Pitviper, share a similar slender green arboreal body plan but lack the raised eyelash-like scales entirely. Non-venomous vine snakes can appear superficially similar in shape and green coloration but have round pupils, a much more slender head, and no heat-sensing pits. The single most reliable identifying feature for the Eyelash Viper, regardless of color morph, is the presence of the spiny, upturned scales above the eyes, which no other snake in its range possesses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the defining feature of the Eyelash Viper?
Enlarged, upturned scales above each eye that resemble eyelashes, present across all of its color variations.
Does the Eyelash Viper always appear green?
No, it occurs in many color morphs including yellow, gray, brown, pink, and reddish forms, in addition to green.
How large does an Eyelash Viper get?
It is a relatively small pit viper, with adults typically reaching 18 to 30 inches in length.
Where is the Eyelash Viper typically found?
It lives in rainforest vegetation from southern Mexico through Central America into parts of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, usually perched on low branches or leaves.
How can it be distinguished from a harmless vine snake?
Vine snakes lack the eyelash-like scales, have round pupils rather than vertical ones, and lack heat-sensing facial pits.
Eyelash Viper identified by the community
Recent Eyelash Viper specimens identified with Snake Identifier.
