Godman's Montane Pit Viper

Godman's Montane Pit Viper

Cerrophidion godmani

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
at El Triunfo

In 3 days >90%

16 Verified sightings at El Triunfo From 2019 to 2026
16 In 1 park
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Godman's Montane Pit Viper

Cerrophidion godmani is a venomous pit viper species native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. No subspecies are recognized as being valid. It is also known commonly as Godman's montane pit viper or Godman's pit viper. The specific name, godmani, is in honor of English zoologist Frederick DuCane Godman.

Terrestrial and moderately stout, adults of C. godmani are usually less than 55 cm (21.5 in) in total length (including tail), but sometimes grow to more than 75 cm (30 in). The tail is non-prehensile and short. The dorsal scales are in 21 rows at midbody.

C. godmani is found in Mexico, in the Mexican states of Chiapas and southeastern Oaxaca, and in Guatemala. Populations from south of Guatemala are assigned to a new species, Cerrophidion sasai. The type locality for C. godmani given by Günther in 1863 is "near Dueñas and on other parts of the tableland of Guatemala".

The preferred natural habitats of C. godmani are forest and grassland, at altitudes of 1,400–3,491 m (4,593–11,453 ft). C. godmani is terrestrial, and it is both diurnal and nocturnal. Adults of C. godmani prey predominately... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
~70%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Guatemala City 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Zoológico Miguél Álvarez del Toro 🇲🇽 Mexico In captivity

Closest Relatives at El Triunfo

No species of the same family or order lives in El Triunfo, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Godman's Montane Pit Viper in El Triunfo?

Very likely

About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Godman's Montane Pit Viper sighting in El Triunfo on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Godman's Montane Pit Viper in El Triunfo?

March

In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Godman's Montane Pit Viper in El Triunfo on a given day, against about 20% in January and February, the lowest months. That is one of El Triunfo's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 420 mm in June. June and August–December have too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Godman's Montane Pit Viper?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Godman's Montane Pit Viper sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Godman's Montane Pit Viper?

Only El Triunfo, in our data

El Triunfo is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Godman's Montane Pit Viper sightings: about 70% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Godman's Montane Pit Viper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Godman's Montane Pit Viper is recorded against all the reptiles logged in El Triunfo (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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