Lachesis melanocephala SOLÓRZANO & CERDAS, 1986

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Higher Taxa	Viperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Black-headed bushmaster G: Schwarzkopf-Buschmeister
Synonym	Lachesis muta melanocephala SOLÓRZANO & CERDAS 1986 Crotalus mutus LINNAEUS 1766 (part.) Lachesis mutus — DAUDIN 1803 (part.) Lachesis muta melanocephala — WELCH 1994: 69 Lachesis melanocephala — ZAMUDIO & GREENE 1997 Lachesis melanocephala — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 312 Lachesis melanocephala — SAVAGE 2002 Lachesis melanocephala — WALLACH et al. 2014: 355
Distribution	SW Costa Rica (Pacific coast, especially Osa peninsula), NW Panama Type locality: "tropical rainforest 9 km northern [sic] of Ciudad Neily in southeastern Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica."
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Neotype: UCR (given as MZUCR) 23185, adult male, designated by Solórzano & Sasa 2020. Holotype: ICP (also as MICP, Universidad de Costa Rica) 301, apparently now lost; paratypes: MICP 302–307. Entiauspe-Neto 2021 stated that the neotype designation by Solórzano & Sasa (2020) is invalid as it did not clarify the taxonomic status or the type locality (Article 75.3.1).
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: A very large, relatively slender pitviper, distinctive in having a rather broad and blunt head that is uniform black above and the tail tip covered by small scales above and below and terminating in a long, pointed spine. The dorsal color pattern is characteristic in having large dark (but often light-centered) diamonds along the midline with the lateral tips pointed ventrally and usually continuing downward as dark lines and the anterior lateral blotches forming vertical bars. (Savage 2002: 730) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 2404 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	Venomous! Distribution: see maps in González-Maya et al. 2014, Solórzano & Sasa 2020, and Barrio-Amorós et al. 2020 (Fig. 28).
Etymology	The specific name melanocephala is derived from the Greek melanos (= black) and kephalos (= head), an allusion to the solid black top of the head in this species.
References	Barrio-Amorós, Cesar L.; Greivin Corrales, Sylvia Rodríguez , Jaime Culebras, Quetzal Dwyer, Diego Alejandro Flores 2020. The Bushmasters (Lachesis spp.): Queens of the rainforest. An overview of the taxonomy, distribution, natural history, lore, and conservation of the largest vipers in the world. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 27 (3): 358-381 - get paper here De Plecker, R. and Dwyer, Q. 2020. First breeding of the black-headed bushmaster (Lachesis melanocephala) in Costa Rica. Herpetological Review 51: 57-64. - get paper here Dwyer, Q. & M. Perez 2009. Geographic distribution: Lachesis melanocephala. Herpetological Review 40 (1): 114 - get paper here ENTIAUSPE-NETO, O. M. 2021. Damsel in distress: is the nomenclature of Lachesis melanocephala Solórzano & Cerdas, 1986 (Serpentes, Viperidae) in need of rescue? Bionomina 24 (1): 51-53 Fernandes, D.S.; Franco, F.L. & Fernandes, R. 2004. Systematic revision of the genus Lachesis DAUDIN 1803 (Serpentes: Viperidae). Herpetologica 60 (2): 245-260 - get paper here González-Maya, José; Fernando Castañeda, Rufino González, Jesús Pacheco, and Gerardo Ceballos 2014. Distribution, Range Extension, and Conservation of the Endemic Black-headed Bushmaster (Lachesis melanocephala) in Costa Rica and Panama. Herp. Cons. Biol. 9 (2): 369-377 - get paper here Laita, Mark 2013. Serpentine. Abrams and PQ Blackwell, Auckland, New Zealand, 200 unnumbered pages McDiarmid, R.W.; Campbell, J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. [type catalogue] Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp. O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here Porras, L.W. & Solórzano, A. 2006. Die Schlangen Costa Ricas. Reptilia (Münster) 11 (61): 20-27 - get paper here Porras, L.W. & Solórzano, A. 2006. Costa Rica’s venomous snakes. Reptilia (GB) (48): 11-17 - get paper here Sasa, M., Arias, E., & Chaves, G. 2025. Annotated list of amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica: The role of the Museum of Zoology in cataloging the country’s herpetological diversity. Revista de Biología Tropical, 73(S2): e64536-e64536 - get paper here Savage, J.M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna Between Two Continents, Between Two Seas. University of Chicago Press, 934 pp. [review in Copeia 2003 (1): 205] Solorzano, A. 2004. Serpientes de Costa Rica - Snakes of Costa Rica. Editorial INBio, Costa Rica, 792 pp. Solórzano,A. & CERDAS,L. 1986. A new subspecies of the bushmaster, Lachesis muta, from Southeastern Costa Rica. Journal of Herpetology 20 (3): 463-466 - get paper here Solórzano, A., & Sasa, M. 2020. Redescription of the snake Lachesis melanocephala (Squamata: Viperidae): Designation of a neotype, natural history, and conservation status. Revista de Biología Tropical, 68(4), 1384-1400 - get paper here Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp. Zamudio, KELLY R. & HARRY W. GREENE 1997. Phylogeography of the bushmaster (Lachesis muta: Viperidae): implications for neotropical biogeography, systematics, and conservation. Biol. J. Linnean Soc. 62 (3): 421-442 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information Google images

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