The Bushmaster is the longest and more robust venomous snake in Central America. It can measure up to 250 cm, but the average adult measures between 190 and 210 cm. It has a medium-sized head, well differentiated, and is characterized by a round snout profile. The dorsal scales are strongly keeled and very protuberant, similar to the coarse and thorny bark of the jabillo tree, hence the vernacular name in Spanish “Bocaracá de Jabillo”. Its back is light brown or cream-colored, with dark rhomboidal designs. The tail ends in a small pointy needle. Males are longer than females.

The length of the snake makes it very dangerous. It is relatively rare to find, it is terrestrial, and has night time habits; it can normally be found in the lairs dug out by armadillos and other mammals. The species is oviparous, it lays up to 18 eggs instead of giving birth to living offspring. It can be found from the Caribbean slope of Nicaragua to the center of Panama. In Costa Rica, it lives in humid forests of the north and Caribbean slopes, from sea level to 1100 m of altitude.