THE SNAKES 339 



Several species of Ancistrodon occur in the hill regions 

 of India. A, blomhoffii inhabits eastern Siberia, China, 

 Siam and Japan. 



Lachesis, containing forty species, large and small, 

 some terrestrial, many strictly arboreal, is represented 

 in southeastern Asia, Malaysia, Mexico, Central and 

 South America and the West Indies. The large, ter- 

 restrial species are found in the New World and are 

 among the most deadly of all snakes, having enormously- 

 developed fangs. The upper surface of the head is 

 covered with small scales — at least with all the New 

 World species; a few of the Asiatic species have en- 

 larged, overlapping, shield-like scales on the head. We 

 will first consider the large species of tropical Amer- 

 ica, beginning with the largest of the New World poi- 

 sonous serpents — a magnificent viper, attaining a length 

 of twelve feet. Its scalation is so rough as to suggest 

 the surface of a pineapple and its tail ends in a long, thin 

 spine, suggesting an ancestral relationship to the rattle- 

 snakes. 



This terrible creature is known under several titles — 

 the Sirocucu, the Mapepire and the Bushmaster; its 

 technical name is Lachesis mutus. The habitat em- 

 braces Central and tropical South America. A few 

 words will convey an impression of the striking colora- 

 tion — once seen never to be forgotten. The ground 

 color is reddish yellow, approaching a pinkish hue on 

 some specimens and crossed by blackish bands, rhom- 

 boidal in shape on the back, narrowing as they approach 

 the abdomen; some of the blotches enclose patches of 

 the ground color. There is a black streak from the eye 

 to the angle of the mouth. 



Though the longest of the Crotaline serpents, the 

 Bushmaster is not a thick-bodied reptile. Its build is 



