Killer Snake in Costa Rica: Fer De Lance pit viper

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Reptilia
• Order: Squamata
• Suborder: Serpentes
• Family: Viperidae
• Genus: Bothrops
• Species: B. asper
• Scientific Name: Bothrops asper

There are more than 130 snake species living in Costa Rica. The most feared one is Fer De Lance pit viper. It is considered the most dangerous snake in America, because of their close proximity to humans. 

The pit is on the front of the Fer De Lance pit viper's face and just between the nostril and the eye. And that is how this snake detects it prey. It is an ambush predator.  It will curl up into a ball and lie in wait for a rodent to come along, strike out, inject that hemotoxic venom, and then it got a meal. 

-Why are Fer De Lance pit vipers so dangerous and deadly?

Firstly, it is because of their close proximity to humans. They are often found in agricultural areas, and even a rural and residential areas, because they are hunting for rodents and amphibians, which is good for pest control for preventing the rapid increasing of their populations. 

Secondly, Fer De Lance pit vipers are so well-camouflaged. In the leaves, its cryptic patterning just blends perfectly into all the shadows within the leaves. If this snake is not moving, you never know it is there. It's moving the tail and rattling it in the leaves. That is called biomimicry. People often confuse it with rattlesnakes. It is replicating what a rattlesnake does. It's a actually a warning sign if you get close.

Thirdly, Fer De Lance pit viper is extremely powerful and can strike 2/3 the length of its body. It has really bad temper. When you come across it, it will be really quick to bite. A bite from this snake is extremely dangerous. It will destroy your tissue and there will be gangrene and its venom can kill a human. On average, a fer-de-lance pit vioer injects 105mg of venom in one bite, The fatal dose for a human is 50mg.