The Bush Viper: Now and Future

The Green Bush Viper (Atheris squamigera) is a venomous snake native to rainforests. Recognizable by its heavily keeled scales and broad head, it is an arboreal species with a prehensile tail. A nocturnal ambush predator, it delivers hemotoxic venom to small mammals, birds, and lizards. It gives birth to live young through viviparity. As deforestation and climate change alter its habitat, the Green Bush Viper may undergo dramatic transformations. Its heavily keeled scales could gradually smooth out, and its prehensile tail would likely weaken as it shifts from an arboreal to a ground-dwelling lifestyle. Its vibrant green coloration would probably give way to earthy browns and blacks, providing better camouflage on the dry forest floor. Driven by rising temperatures, it would burrow underground to escape heat, develop sharper night vision, migrate toward cooler elevations, and slowly trend smaller in body size over generations.