---
title: "South American Bushmaster"
description: "Lachesis muta — Reptiles. Lachesis muta, also known as the Southern American bushmaster or Atlantic bushmaster, is a pit viper species found in South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/south-american-bushmaster
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# South American Bushmaster

> Lachesis muta — Reptiles. Lachesis muta, also known as the Southern American bushmaster or Atlantic bushmaster, is a pit viper species found in South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean.

- Scientific name: *Lachesis muta*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 518
- Wikidata: [Q53741](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q53741)
- iNaturalist taxon: [73840](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/73840)

## Names

- en: South American Bushmaster
- de: Südamerikanischer Buschmeister
- es: Surucucú
- fr: Lachésis muet
- nl: Bosmeester
- pt: Surucucu
- pl: Groźnica niema

## Countries with the most observations

PE (170), BR (89), EC (53), GF (45), BO (37), CO (25), SR (14), TT (13)

## Summary

Lachesis muta, also known as the Southern American bushmaster or Atlantic bushmaster, is a pit viper species found in South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachesis_muta

## Photo

![South American Bushmaster](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/south-american-bushmaster/medium.jpg)

Photo: Christopher Murray · Public domain · commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lachesis_muta_muta.jpg

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/south-american-bushmaster?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).