Poisonous Snak»s of Iho World 



l>i>r!<aU slroiiKly ki-rlol. In 'J.'i JD rows Ml iiiIiIIiimI.v, 

 ffwer ( 1!M iM)stfr|c«rly. \'i>iilriils 1!I7 I'll!; .siiliraiiilals 

 palivd. M TO. 



Diatriliiiliiin: Kniiiul In riiriio iinil coiiiMiinl iihinni- 

 tlonx aiul (liiiiip fim-st ; only i<\\ llir i-,lMiicl ni' Si. I.ui iii 



Fioi-RB 3H. — St. Liu-iii Serpent, liothmpa mrihlnicux. 

 Photo by New York Zoological Society. 



Rcmarkx: This is a dangerous snake wliose bite 

 causes severe local tissue daniaf^e. 



For many years it was confused with the liarba ania- 

 rilla (B. atrox) of the niainlaiul and tlie fer-de-lance 

 (H. lauccolatiis) of Martini(iue. 



It is reported to have caused the death of several 

 persons on the island. No specific antivenin is available 

 fur this si)ecies. 



Jararaca, /lofhfo/ix jajdntcd (AVied). 



IdenUfiration: An olive-green, brown-blotched pit vi- 

 per with a rather long, but short-snouted head. Adults 

 average 3 to 4 feet ; occasional individuals approach 

 6 feet in length. 



Crown of head dark olive, usually with some dark 

 brown irregular markings which may be light-edged. A 



welldi'lliird dink brown poslnrbllal slrlpii prcNcnt ; re- 

 niiiindiT of side nl' hciid llghl. .Vboiit '_'.'• pairs of lateral 

 brown hlotclirs on the body; Ibey are well-dellne<l 

 InliTal lilMiik'b'S iinli'ilorly but become rounder Inward 

 iiiidbiMly anil i|iiili' li'i'c'^ubir In >.li;i|ii' iinsleriorly. 

 Cmund icliir olive, yrayi^li or browni.sb. Itelly yellow- 

 ish, lilotchcil with gray, (iflcn cnllrely gray posteriorly. 



Prefrontals small, longer than broad, se|>araled front 

 one another b.v I "i rows of small scales. Dorsals 

 weakly keeled, keels extending enlire length of .scales, 

 in 20-27 rows at inidbody. Venlrals ]7."-21(5; sub- 

 caudals ."2 T<i. .ill or nearl.v all paired. 



Distrihiiliiiii : (irasslands and open coiniliy lliroiigh 

 southern Urazil. noil lieaslern Paraguay and northern 

 Argentina. 



I'lnidihn: This snake is easily confused with /{. 

 iilni.r on the one hand and with /{. juraracunHH on the 

 Ml her. The color patterns and scales of the snout re- 

 gion appear to distinguish them. I!, jiijiinicii is one 

 of the most common venomou.s snakes thr(nigliout its 

 range. Probably for that reason, rather than because 

 of its venom fpiantify and toxicity, it is second only to 

 the cascabel ifratalKfi (fiiriK.iii.i) as a source of deaths 

 from snakebite in the region. 



Jararacussu, /lof/iro/»i jiii'divcii.s.sii Lacerdti. 

 tdciifificatioii: A dull-colored black and yellowish pit 



Fku're .30. — .lararaca, Jiotliroijx jujarucu. Photo by 

 New York Zoological Society. 



Figure 40. — Jararacussu. Bothropii jararacussu. Photo 

 by New York Zoological Society. 



viper with a broad, lance-shaped head. Adults average 

 3 to 4 feet; maximum length about 5Vi feet (Amaral, 

 1925). 



Crown of head unicolor black and dark brown with 

 dark-yellowish lines over the temporal regions which 

 separate the black postorbital stripe from the dark 

 color of the crown ; side of head mostly yellowish. 

 About 15 pairs of lateral upside-down U-shaped black 

 body blotches may alternate with one another or oppose 

 and connect across the back. Often much of back 

 covered with irregular patches of dark pigment., leaving 

 lateral blotches irregularly outlined with dark yellow. 

 Belly yellow, irregularly blotihed with dark brown or 

 black. 



Prefrontals (canthals) broader than long, separated 

 from one another by 1-2 rows of small scales. Dorsals 



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