Side-striped palm pit viper

Side-striped palm pit viper

Bothriechis lateralis

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at La Amistad International Park (Panama)

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

16 Verified sightings at La Amistad International Park (Panama) From 2019 to 2026
806 In all 7 parks
September Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Side-striped palm pit viper

Common names: side-striped palm pitviper side-striped palm viper, more. Bothriechis lateralis is a pit viper species found in the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama. No subspecies are currently recognized. Adult specimens may exceed 100 centimetres (39 in), but are usually less than 80 centimetres (31 in) in length. These are relatively slender snakes and have a prehensile tail.

The color pattern consists of an emerald green to bluish green ground color, overlaid with a series of yellow alternating paravertebral vertical bars. Some of the scales adjacent to the yellow in this pattern may be blue or black-tipped. The belly is a uniform yellowing-green, bordered on either side by a pale yellow stripe running along the lower portion of the paraventral scales and the extreme lateral part of the ventral scales. The head is uniformly green on top and a blue or blue-gray postocular stripe may be present. If a postocular stripe is present, it is weakly defined, especially in large adults. The iris is yellow.

Juvenile specimens are usually brown with dark brown markings on the head, bronze irises, postocular stripes, paravertebral makings that are edged with yellow... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~70%
2 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
3 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
4 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
5 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
6 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
7 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 San José 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 San Diego Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Parc zoologique de Montpellier 🇫🇷 France In captivity
3 La Paz Waterfall Gardens 🇨🇷 Costa Rica In captivity
4 Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar 🇨🇷 Costa Rica In captivity
5 Snake Farm of Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute 🇹🇭 Thailand In captivity
6 Monteverde Theme Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Side-striped palm pit viper in La Amistad International Park (Panama)?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Side-striped palm pit viper sighting in La Amistad International Park (Panama) on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 28th most-seen of the 63 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Side-striped palm pit viper in La Amistad International Park (Panama)?

January–March and May–November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Side-striped palm pit viper in La Amistad International Park (Panama) on a given day, against under 5% in April and December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Side-striped palm pit viper?

Between 6 and 9 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Side-striped palm pit viper sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is La Amistad International Park (Panama) the best place to see a Side-striped palm pit viper?

7th of 7

Of the 7 parks where we can rate Side-striped palm pit viper sightings, La Amistad International Park (Panama) ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Costa Rica, about 70%), Chirripó National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%) and Poás Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).

Where does the Side-striped palm pit viper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Side-striped palm pit viper is recorded against all the reptiles logged in La Amistad International Park (Panama) (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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