﻿288 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  bushmaster, 
  occurs. 
  The 
  mongoose 
  was 
  brought 
  from 
  India 
  and 
  intro- 
  

   duced 
  upon 
  Martinique 
  and 
  Trinidad 
  to 
  kill 
  snakes 
  but 
  has 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  

   a 
  pest 
  in 
  many 
  instances 
  where 
  it 
  turned 
  to 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  fowl 
  

   and 
  other 
  useful 
  birds 
  instead. 
  

  

  Since 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  tropical 
  poisonous 
  snakes 
  of 
  this 
  hemisphere 
  range 
  

   over 
  both 
  Central 
  and 
  South 
  America, 
  these 
  species 
  will 
  be 
  considered 
  

   first, 
  with 
  the 
  more 
  important 
  of 
  the 
  localized 
  forms 
  which 
  are 
  confined 
  

   to 
  a 
  smaller 
  area 
  considered 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  this 
  section. 
  

  

  The 
  Coral 
  Snakes 
  

  

  Like 
  their 
  relatives 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  the 
  tropical 
  coral 
  snakes 
  

   (genus 
  Micrurus) 
  are 
  burrowing 
  and 
  secretive 
  in 
  their 
  habits. 
  Their 
  

   brilliant 
  coloring 
  of 
  red 
  and 
  black 
  bands 
  makes 
  them 
  easy 
  to 
  detect 
  

   among 
  the 
  vegetation. 
  Some 
  nonvenomous 
  snakes 
  mimic 
  their 
  color- 
  

   ing 
  closely. 
  Their 
  bright 
  pattern, 
  much 
  alike 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  species, 
  has 
  

   given 
  them 
  the 
  common 
  name 
  of 
  coralilla 
  in 
  Mexico, 
  and 
  of 
  gar- 
  

   gantilla 
  (necklace) 
  in 
  Central 
  America. 
  While 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  ag- 
  

   gressive 
  if 
  undisturbed, 
  they 
  will 
  bite 
  when 
  stepped 
  on 
  or 
  handled 
  

   roughly. 
  The 
  larger 
  kinds 
  can 
  inject 
  a 
  lethal 
  dose 
  of 
  poison; 
  the 
  

   wearing 
  of 
  canvas 
  leggings 
  and 
  leather 
  shoes 
  provides 
  adequate 
  pro- 
  

   tection 
  against 
  coral 
  snake 
  bite 
  when 
  traveling 
  in 
  "snake 
  country," 
  as 
  

   their 
  fangs 
  are 
  not 
  long. 
  

  

  Two 
  of 
  the 
  commonest 
  South 
  American 
  coral 
  snakes 
  are 
  Micriirus 
  

   frontalis, 
  found 
  in 
  southern 
  Brazil 
  to 
  the 
  Argentine, 
  and 
  Micrurus 
  

   lemniscatus, 
  occurring 
  in 
  the 
  Guianas 
  and 
  Brazil. 
  While 
  these 
  may 
  

   appear 
  "gentle," 
  they 
  will 
  treacherously 
  turn 
  and 
  bite 
  if 
  they 
  are 
  

   carelessly 
  handled. 
  A 
  length 
  of 
  4 
  feet 
  is 
  fairly 
  common. 
  

  

  The 
  Pit 
  Vipers 
  

   The 
  rattlesnakes. 
  

  

  The 
  rattlesnakes 
  (genus 
  Crotalus) 
  with 
  which 
  we 
  have 
  become 
  so 
  

   familiar 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  have 
  many 
  close 
  relatives 
  in 
  the 
  lands 
  

   to 
  the 
  south. 
  The 
  habits 
  of 
  these 
  tropical 
  rattlers 
  are 
  much 
  like 
  those 
  

   of 
  the 
  rattlesnakes 
  of 
  our 
  own 
  country. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  are 
  

   very 
  rare, 
  only 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  ever 
  having 
  been 
  found 
  by 
  naturalists 
  

   even 
  after 
  the 
  most 
  assiduous 
  collecting. 
  Some 
  are 
  very 
  small, 
  and 
  

   unable 
  because 
  of 
  their 
  short 
  fangs 
  to 
  inject 
  a 
  lethal 
  amount 
  of 
  poison. 
  

   One 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  kinds, 
  Crotalus 
  durissus 
  terrificus 
  (pi. 
  4, 
  fig. 
  1), 
  

   is 
  the 
  only 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  in 
  South 
  America, 
  ranging 
  from 
  

   northern 
  Venezuela 
  to 
  southern 
  Brazil 
  except 
  for 
  the 
  wet 
  valley 
  of 
  

   the 
  Amazon. 
  Its 
  length 
  is 
  up 
  to 
  7 
  feet. 
  The 
  venom 
  has 
  a 
  largely 
  

   neurotoxic 
  action, 
  in 
  this 
  respect 
  being 
  different 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  

   northern 
  rattlesnakes. 
  It 
  is 
  more 
  aggressive 
  than 
  most 
  reptiles, 
  

  

  