NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Highland Eyelash-Pitviper
Bothriechis schlegelii (Berthold, 1846)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Bothriechis schlegelii, known commonly as the highland eyelash-pitviper, Schlegel's eyelash-pitviper, eyelash viper or eyelash palm viper, is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae, native to Colombia.
Somewhat small, arboreal snakes, B. schlegelii is perhaps best known for the namesake superciliary ("eyelash") scales above its eyes, and for having distinctly keeled or "raised" scales covering the bulk of its body. The species is also known for producing a veritable rainbow of color forms (morphs).
No subspecies are currently recognized as being valid.
Wikipedia contributors, Bothriechis schlegelii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:03:11.717914+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bothriechis schlegelii (Berthold, 1846)
- Name authority
- (Berthold, 1846)
- Common name
- Highland Eyelash-Pitviper
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Viperidae
- Genus
- Bothriechis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyViperidae
- subfamilyCrotalinae
- genusBothriechis
- speciesBothriechis schlegelii (Berthold, 1846)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bothriechis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow-blotched Palm Pit ViperBothriechis aurifer (Salvin, 1860) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coffee Palm ViperBothriechis lateralis Peters, 1862 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hussain’s Eyelash-PitviperBothriechis hussaini Arteaga, Pyron, Batista, Vieira, Meneses-Pelayo, Smith, Barrio-Amorós, Koch, Agne, Valencia, Bustamante & Harris, 2024 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Khwarg’s Eyelash-Pitviper.Bothriechis khwargi Arteaga, Pyron, Batista, Vieira, Meneses-Pelayo, Smith, Barrio-Amorós, Koch, Agne, Valencia, Bustamante & Harris, 2024 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Klebba’s Eyelash-PitviperBothriechis klebbai Arteaga, Pyron, Batista, Vieira, Meneses-Pelayo, Smith, Barrio-Amorós, Koch, Agne, Valencia, Bustamante & Harris, 2024 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Central Ameri- can Eyelash-PitviperBothriechis nigroadspersus (Steindachner, 1870) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ecuadorian Eyelash-PitviperBothriechis nitidus (Günther, 1859) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Shah’s Eyelash-PitviperBothriechis rasikusumorum Arteaga, Pyron, Batista, Vieira, Meneses-Pelayo, Smith, Barrio-Amorós, Koch, Agne, Valencia, Bustamante & Harris, 2024 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Birri Eyelash-PitviperBothriechis torvus (Posada-Arango, 1889) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Guatemala Palm Pit ViperBothriechis bicolor (Bocourt, 1868) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-speckled Palm Pit ViperBothriechis nigroviridis Peters, 1859 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Blotched Eyelash-PitviperBothriechis supraciliaris (Taylor, 1954) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Thanatophis colgadora Garcia, 1896 Garcia, 1896 | synonym |
| Trigonocephalus schlegelii Berthold, 1846 Berthold, 1846 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Bothriechis&species=schlegelii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:MN2N. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.