Patagonian Lancehead

“In December 2022, our group of friends (Calvin Vick, Ryan Urbanek, and Jordan Allen) took a flight down to Buenos Aires—a trip planned months in advance by Calvin. At the time of planning, we couldn’t have known, but our trip coincided with the World Cup, and we watched Argentina battle through the rankings, culminating in the country winning the Cup while we were down there.

We traveled over 30 hours by car across multiple habitats, encountering species such as Xenodon pulcher, Bothrops diporus, Bothrops alternatus, Boa occidentalis, Boana cordobae, Amphisbaena bolivica, and more. However, the main target of the trip was the Patagonian Lancehead (Bothrops ammodytoides): Argentina’s only endemic viper and the southernmost-ranging snake species in the world. While this species can be relatively common at lower latitudes, where they occur closer to the coast, we searched for the species in the Sierra de Cordobas, where the species is rarely seen by local herpetologists. After a few failed attempts, Ryan shouted for the group, and we knew it could only mean one thing. He had encountered a beautiful adult basking just outside its rocky burrow.” – Steven Klioze