Sri Lankan Green Pit Viper

Description:

Craspedocephalus trigonocephalus is a species of pitvipers endemic to Sri Lanka, it is venomous however not particularly aggressive. Males grow to be 60–75 cm while females can be 130 cm total length. The venom is haemotoxic, swelling and severe pain is felt at the bite site. Ptosis and lymphadenopathy takes place as well as local necrosis, and in some patients polyuric renal failure and cardiac electrophysiological dysfunction could occur. It is still not assessed by IUCN.

Habitat:

Sinharaja Forest Reserve is one of the last primary rainforests in Sri Lanka and is a biodiversity hotspot, it was established as a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978, and a World Heritage site in 1988 by UNESCO. More than 60% of the trees are endemic, it's also home to 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species of animals and 95% of the endemic birds of the country. Surrounded in dense fog, the dangerous, dark and mysterious Sinharaja forest is steeped in deep legend and mystery. The word Sinharaja means lion- (සිංහ/சிங்கம் sinha) king or kingdom (රාජ/ராஜா raja), and a popular folk legend has it that a legendary lion lived in this protected forest. 60% of the forest is contained within the border of Rathnapura District, 20% in the Galle District, and 20% in Kaluthara District. The forest is likely to have formed during the Jurassic era and spans over an area of 360 km², it is the most dense rainforest in Asia with 240,000 plants per hectare. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinharaja_...

Notes:

Me and my guide encountered this beauty in the evening after hours of walking and photographing. This one was hanging close to the ground in the same position the whole time, with exception for a slight movement when I got too close with my camera, it didn't move at all.