Medium length snake, very robust, can grow up to 125 cm long, but the average adult size is 85 - 90 cm.  There are no differences in size between males and females. The head is very big and well differentiated from the neck. Consistent dorsal pattern with 25 to 30 dark rhomboidal-shaped designs, usually fused together to form an undulating, dark pattern over a light background. 

This is a relatively rare species, found in low, medium and high lands in the Caribbean, and in humid and rainy forests of the Cordillera Central and Talamanca. Found in Costa Rica and the western corner of Panama, between 15 and 1,750 m of altitude.