﻿278 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  20. 
  1, 
  Anaconda. 
  

   2, 
  Boa. 
  

  

  21. 
  1, 
  Galapagos 
  land 
  iguana. 
  

   2, 
  Komodo 
  dragon 
  lizard. 
  

  

  22. 
  1, 
  Salt-water 
  crocodile. 
  

   2, 
  Indian 
  python. 
  

  

  23. 
  1, 
  Rock 
  python. 
  

  

  2, 
  Gould's 
  monitor. 
  

  

  TEXT 
  FIGURES 
  

  

  Fag* 
  

  

  1. 
  Venom 
  apparatus 
  of 
  rattlesnake 
  283 
  

  

  2. 
  Yellow-bellied 
  sea 
  snake 
  293 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  Among 
  a 
  world 
  population 
  of 
  some 
  2,400 
  different 
  kinds 
  of 
  living 
  

   snakes, 
  less 
  than 
  200 
  are 
  poisonous 
  to 
  man. 
  These 
  poisonous 
  snakes 
  be- 
  

   long 
  to 
  the 
  following 
  families: 
  The 
  Elapidae, 
  represented 
  by 
  coral 
  

   snakes 
  and 
  cobras 
  ; 
  the 
  Viperidae 
  or 
  true 
  vipers 
  ; 
  the 
  Crotalidae 
  or 
  pit 
  

   vipers 
  ; 
  the 
  Hydrophidae 
  or 
  sea 
  snakes 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  Colubridae. 
  To 
  this 
  

   last-named 
  family 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  harmless 
  snakes 
  also 
  belong, 
  the 
  only 
  

   dangerous 
  ones 
  being 
  those 
  having 
  poison 
  fangs 
  in 
  the 
  back 
  part 
  of 
  

   the 
  upper 
  jaw. 
  Some 
  poisonous 
  snakes 
  are 
  extremely 
  useful 
  in 
  de- 
  

   stroying 
  rats 
  and 
  mice, 
  but 
  this 
  desirable 
  trait 
  is 
  offset 
  near 
  in- 
  

   habited 
  districts 
  by 
  their 
  occasional 
  biting 
  of 
  human 
  beings 
  or 
  

   domestic 
  animals. 
  

  

  The 
  chances 
  of 
  being 
  bitten 
  by 
  poisonous 
  snakes 
  are 
  exceedingly 
  

   small. 
  Only 
  about 
  one-sixth 
  of 
  our 
  native 
  snakes 
  are 
  poisonous. 
  

   One 
  person 
  out 
  of 
  every 
  fifteen 
  bitten 
  receives 
  the 
  bite 
  while 
  handling 
  

   or 
  "playing" 
  with 
  a 
  poisonous 
  snake. 
  "In 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  alone 
  

   automobiles 
  kill 
  more 
  than 
  30,000 
  people 
  annually, 
  snakes 
  probably 
  

   160; 
  for 
  every 
  person 
  killed 
  by 
  a 
  snake, 
  200 
  die 
  in 
  automobile 
  acci- 
  

   dents." 
  2 
  This 
  does 
  not 
  mean 
  that 
  vigilance 
  should 
  be 
  relaxed 
  in 
  

   traveling 
  through 
  snake 
  country. 
  On 
  the 
  contrary, 
  it 
  is 
  well 
  to 
  

   recognize 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  a 
  very 
  real 
  danger 
  as 
  the 
  best 
  means 
  of 
  

   avoiding 
  it. 
  

  

  The 
  distribution 
  of 
  poisonous 
  snakes 
  throughout 
  the 
  world 
  is 
  now 
  

   fairly 
  well 
  known. 
  They 
  do 
  not 
  live 
  in 
  the 
  extremely 
  cold 
  regions 
  of 
  

   any 
  country; 
  thus 
  in 
  North 
  America 
  they 
  are 
  known 
  only 
  as 
  far 
  

   north 
  as 
  the 
  southern 
  borders 
  of 
  Canada. 
  Since 
  the 
  continents 
  to 
  the 
  

   south 
  of 
  the 
  Equator 
  lie 
  much 
  farther 
  from 
  the 
  Poles 
  than 
  do 
  those 
  

   to 
  the 
  north, 
  we 
  find 
  poisonous 
  snakes 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  Africa 
  and 
  

   in 
  most 
  of 
  South 
  America, 
  except 
  on 
  the 
  high 
  mountains 
  and 
  in 
  

   southern 
  Patagonia. 
  An 
  extremely 
  hardy 
  viper 
  occurs 
  in 
  Scan- 
  

   dinavia 
  to 
  within 
  the 
  Arctic 
  Circle; 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  record 
  for 
  cold 
  en- 
  

   durance 
  among 
  the 
  venomous 
  snakes. 
  The 
  Polynesian 
  islands 
  are 
  

   free 
  of 
  land-dwelling 
  poisonous 
  snakes. 
  So 
  are 
  Madagascar 
  and 
  

   New 
  Zealand, 
  although 
  both 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  relatively 
  close 
  to 
  areas 
  

  

  * 
  Pope, 
  Clifford, 
  Snakes 
  alive 
  and 
  how 
  they 
  live, 
  p. 
  171, 
  1937. 
  

  

  