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Cerrophidium tzotzilorum
I haven't seen a Nauyaca in several years. This species is endemic to the highlands of Chiapas and is named for Tzotzil Indians whose villages occur throughout the mountains of Chiapas. They are brown to grey in color with zig-zag diamond shaped designs of the back. This is a venomous snake and diurnal. It is critically endangered from loss of habitat and because everyone who finds one, kills it. This was a big one at close to 40 cm in length. Workers had been clearing the lot below, and we think it escaped the field. It was curled up next to a garden gate and children and dogs ran past it for at least 2 days before it was seen. They are well-camouflaged with the leaf litter. We released it up in the mountains where few people go and hopefully it will survive. Family Viparidae.
Semi-rural residential area, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, 2,200 meters. I only had my iPhone with me to photograph it.
http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/spe... https://www.naturalista.mx/taxa/30805-Ce... http://www.redtox.org/cerrophidion-tzotz...
Spotted on Apr 27, 2018
Submitted on Aug 19, 2018
2 Comments
Thank you Neil, I love snakes too, and hate to see people kill them out of unreasonable fear. Everyone is afraid of the Nauyaca, but it is reportedly not particularly aggressive. It never attacked while curled up by the garden gate.
Excellent spotting, Lauren, and great notes too. I love snakes, and I find it difficult to understand why people just want to kill them. Thank you for caring enough to safely relocate this one.