2606 SCALED REPTILES 



seems better to suspend our judgment before definitely committing ourselves to any 

 one particular view. That rattlesnakes are some of the most deadly of all venom- 

 ous serpents may be freely admitted; and it seems that we -must almost concede that 

 they possess the mysterious power of " fascinating" their victims before striking. 

 Moreover, the assertions as to the power possessed by vipers of swallowing their 

 young are equally numerous and well authenticated in the case of the serpents 

 under consideration. 



The formidable South- American snake (Lachests muta) known to 



the Dutch settlers of Guiana as the bushmaster, but by the Brazilians 

 master 



termed the surukuku, differs from the rattlesnakes by the presence 



of a distinct keel-like ridge down the back, and, in place of a rattle, having the 

 under surface of the tip of the tail covered with from ten to twelve transverse rows 

 of small, spiny, sharp scales, while the extremity terminates in a spine. This snake 

 attains a length of from nine to twelve feet, and has the ground color of the upper 

 parts reddish yellow, upon which is a longitudinal row of large blackish brown 

 lozenges, each having two light spots on either side of the middle line; while the 

 under parts are yellowish white, with a porcelanous glaze. The large size and enor- 

 mous poison fangs of the bushmaster render it one of the most formidable of the 

 pit vipers; its bite being apparently fatal to human beings in a few hours. Fortu- 

 nately it is far from common, and inhabits only the secluded portions of the primeval 

 forest, where it lies coiled up on the ground. Unlike most snakes, when disturbed 

 it makes no attempt to flee, but strikes with the rapidity of lightning at the dis- 

 turber of its slumbers. 



These snakes have the upper surface of most, or all, of the front 

 Halys Vipers ^ ^ j lga( j covere( j w jth large shields; the body is rather long and 

 clothed with from seventeen to twenty-seven rows of keeled scales; and the very 

 short tail has its lower shields arranged in either a double or single series, some 

 species having a small spine at the extremity, which is regarded as a rudimentary 

 rattle. The genus is common to Asia and North and Central America; some half 

 score of species being known, two of which are found in India. One species ranges 

 as far east as the Urals, where it just enters the confines of Europe. In habits they 

 are all terrestrial. 



Of the Indian species, in both of which at least the majority of the 

 Himalayan s h{ e id s O n the lower surface of the tail are arranged in two rows, the 

 Himalayan halys (Ancistrodon himalayanus] is distinguished by hav- 

 ing two pairs of large shields on the muzzle, the extremity of which is but little 

 turned upward. In color it is brown, with black spots or transverse bands, while 

 sometimes a light festooned stripe runs down the back ; from the eye to the angle of 

 the mouth runs a black streak edged with white; and the under parts are either dark 

 brown, or variegated with black and white. This snake, which grows to nearly a 

 yard in length, is abundant in the Northwestern Himalayas, at elevations of between 

 five thousand and eight thousand feet, although it sometimes ascends considerably 

 higher. The carawila (A. hypnale) of Ceylon and Western India, is a much 

 smaller species, not exceeding twenty inches in length, and characterized by the ex- 

 tremity of the upturned muzzle being covered with small scales. 



