Moderate to medium-sized snake, with a maximum length known of 132 cm (the largest venomous snake in Costa Rica), but the average size is between 70 and 90 cm in adults. The body is thin, moderately robust, and cylindrical, with a medium-sized head not very differentiated from the neck. Its coloration pattern has three colors: red, black, and white or yellow.

A black cephalic-cap extends from the rostral to first dorsal scales, followed by a white cephalic ring that can vary its appearance. 

Terrestrial habits, and active mainly at night, it can be frequently observed in marshy jungle locations and close to rivers or ravines, although they can also be seen hiding between fallen leaves on the ground of primary forests, sometimes they can be found under floors or inside houses in rural areas. 

Viviparous reproduction, and a relatively common species. It can be found from the southeast of Honduras to the west of Panama. In Costa Rica it lives in tropical and subtropical rainforests of the Caribbean slope and the central and south Pacific, and in medium elevations in the Cordillera Central, from sea level to 1600 m of altitude.