Small snake with an average length of 45 to 50 cm. The body is thin and moderately robust, with a large, broad head well differentiated from the neck. An arboreal species, but it can also be found on the ground and at the base of trees and bushes. Active mainly at night, but it also moves during the day. 

Relatively uncommon, found in Costa Rica and Panama. In Costa Rica it can only be found in subtropical and temperate rainforests of the Cordillera de Tilaran (heights of Monteverde), and on the southwest of the Cordillera Central and Cordillera de Talamanca at heights between 1350 and 3000 m of altitude.