VIDEO: The World’s Deadliest Snake Destroys Girl’s Leg!

Snake bites are common and frequent, especially in rural areas of tropical developing countries. This poor girl got the worst of it. She was bitten by the world’s deadliest snake, the Lancehead Viper (Bothrops insularis).

According to Wikipedia, on average B. insularis grows to a length of 70 cm (28 in) and is known to reach 118 cm (46 in). The color pattern consists of a pale yellowish-brown ground color, overlaid with a series of dorsal blotches that may be triangular or quadrangular, broad or narrow, and alternating or opposite along the dorsal median. In captivity, this yellowish color often becomes darker, which may be the result of poor circulation caused by ineffective thermoregulation. A banded pattern results when the pattern is opposite. The head lacks a well-defined post-orbital stripe. The belly is a uniform pale yellow or cream.

The name “lancehead” refers to the distinctive head shape of all snakes in the genus Bothrops, which is somewhat elongated and comes to a point at the nose. B. insularis also has a longer tail than its closest relative, B. jararaca, which is most likely an adaptation to help the snake maneuver through the trees.

Because B. insularis is only found in an area uninhabited by humans, there has never been an official report of a human being bitten by one, but other lanceheads are responsible for more human mortality than any other group of snakes in either North or South America. Ludwig Trutnau reports four human envenomations, three of which were fatal. The mortality rate for lancehead envenomations is 0.5–3% if the patient receives treatment and 7% if the patient does not receive treatment. The effects of envenomations by lanceheads include swelling, local pain, nausea and vomiting, blood blisters, bruising, blood in the vomit and urine, intestinal bleeding, kidney failure, hemorrhage in the brain and severe necrosis of muscular tissue. Chemical analysis of the venom of B. insularis suggests that it is five times as potent as that of B. jararaca and is the fastest acting venom in the genus Bothrops. They have hemotoxic venom that eats away at flesh and tissue to digest the prey item before they swallow it. Bothrops insularis also have some neurotoxic venom that kills the prey item.

In Campbell and Lamar’s 2004 accounts of the venomous reptiles of Latin America, there was no mention of any predators that could potentially prey on an adult B. insularis. However, the list of animal species provided by Duarte et al. includes several species of birds, spiders, millipedes, and various lizards that inhabit the island, which could potentially be predators of young snakes. Of course, Duarte et al. also stress that there is a lack of observation of this species, due to the inaccessibility of the island Queimada Grande, and that just because a relationship between B. insularis and other species has not been observed does not mean that such a relationship does not exist.

The golden lancehead’s diet consists mostly of perching birds. However, they have been reported to eat lizards, and even resort to cannibalism. Newborn and juvenile golden lanceheads prey primarily upon invertebrates.

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