The specific name, batesii, is in honor of American ornithologist George Latimer Bates.

[2] The preferred natural habitat of R. batesii is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 1,300 m (4,300 ft).

[1] The holotype of R. batesii has a total length (including tail) of 1.8 m (5.9 ft).

[2] R. batesii is a rear-fanged colubrid, i.e., it has venom, which it may be able to inoculate by biting.

This species has an almost identical defence mechanism to the boomslang (Dispholidus typus) and twig snakes (genus Thelotornis) as they also inflate their throat to make themselves look bigger.