March 22 2010, Sarah Higgins and Rachel Adams were arrived in Bolivia for their expedition to find and document a new species of lancehead pit viper called the Tiger Lancehead (Bothrops tigrus), which rumored to be the more lethal snake than the Common Lancehead or Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops atrox). They will be joined by two Spanish herpetologist named Juan Tieros(21) and his girlfriend Cecilia López (21) , and a local guide and Bolivian snake herper named Carlos Fuego (22) for the expedition. Their first stop will be in Madidi National Park. All the five herpers got out of their vehicles carried their supplies invluding food, water, snake tongs and first aid kits for snake bites as they explored the jungles. They spotted their first snake coiling on the tree branch.
"Check that out, a new species of boa, Lime Boa (Protoboa limensis)." Juan Tieros said.
"Whoa, what a beautiful snake." Rachel said.
"Well, I've never seen that boa before. It is a lime green snake with dark green and white broad bands." Sarah said.
"Protoboa is a new genus of Boidae family, this new species that we stumbled, is an arboreal species, it is found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil, primarily in forests and mountains. It feeds mostly on birds, bats, lizards and tree frogs." Cecilia said.
"The size of this snake is around 3 feet 4 inches." Carlos said. "Let's count the dorsal scales, ventral scales and subcaudal scales."
The team started counting the scales
"22 dorsal scales, 166 ventral scales and 71 subcaudal scales." Juan said.
"That's a great scale counting." Sarah said. "That will be added to the record of our data research."
"This is a primarily nocturnal species." Cecilia said.
"This was a great find. This is our first snake of the day so far." Rachel said.
Later, the team document this snake and taking several photographs of the Lime Boa. After they document and taking few photographs of the Lime Boa, Juan released the snake back to the tree branch where it could crawled up to another tree branch and coiled again.
"Now let's searching for the elusive Tiger Lancehead." Sarah said.
Now Sarah and the other herpers were now continued searching for the other snakes particularly the Tiger Lancehead. Then, they spotted the Chupacabra Lancehead (Bothrops chupacabricus), crawling on the forest floor.
"Check it out, Chupacabra Lancehead." Carlos said.
"That's an interesting new species of pit viper." Sarah said.
Sarah and the other were approaching at the Chupacabra Lancehead, they draw their respective snake tongs in order to handling the venomous pit viper. The Chupacabra Lancehead vibrating its tail.
"It's vibrating its tail as a warning." Carlos said.
"The colors and markings of the Chupacabra Lancehead is stunning. It is a yellowish snake with red and grey broad bands along with dark brown and black blotches all the way down to its tail. Its belly is yellow."Cecilia said.
Juan gently holds the snake with his tong and, he pinned the snake behind the head and granned the head very gently, he started counting the dorsal scales, ventral scales and subcaudal scales.
"Yup, it's 27 dorsal scales, 168 ventral scales and 77 subcaudal scales." Juan said.
"What about the size of the snake?" Sarah asked.
Carlos using his measuring tape to measure the Chupacabra Lancehead.
"4 feet 3 inches long." Carlos said.
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Sarah Higgins: The American Snake Herper
RastgeleSarah Higgins is a 20-year-old American snake herper who is a young herpetologist who specialized in snakes. She is on a quest to find and document new species of snake that hasn't been described or remained undiscovered.
