516 MESSES. MOLE AND UBICH ON THE [June 19, 



to get drowsy almost immediately. It subsequently began to pant 

 violently, but was still drowsy. Then the tail began to twitch, 

 also the muscles in the region of the backbone. At 8.11 con- 

 vulsions set in. At 8.14 the heart had ceased beating. In biting 

 the Coral held on for about 15 seconds. This snake subsequently 

 died, owing to being accidently exposed by a careless porter to the 

 sun. 



Lachesis muta. 



This snake is locally called "Mapepire Zanana," because its 

 carinated scales are thought to be somewhat of the colour and the 

 shape of the leaf-like scales on the pineapple fruit. " The average 

 length," says Mr. A. B. Carr, " of those I have met and measured 

 accurately (about fifty) is a little under 7| feet; the largest 

 of these having been 8 ft. 2 in. and the shortest 6 ft. 2 in. 

 There is an instance on record (by de Verteuil) in the island, I 

 believe, of an 11 -footer." The Mapepire, unlike its cousin 

 Botlirops airox, prefers rising ground, and is often found on the 

 crest of small hillocks, apparently because it prefers dry soil. 

 According to Mr. Carr, the Mapepire is frequently found in 

 holes, into which, when chased, the Lappe {Ccelocieriys paca) and 

 the Armadillo (Tatusia novemcincta) run; but rarely, if ever, is he 

 found inhabiting the same hole (as has been for years believed) 

 with either of these animals. Most of the bites from this snake 

 occur at their holes-. He rarely strikes without provocation, but 

 once agitated he becomes vicious and may strike manj^ times in 

 succession. Dogs when hunting are bitten, and men occasionally, 

 but seldom fatally. In a paper on Quenck, or Peccary-hunting, 

 read before the Field Xaturalists' Club, in No. 11, vol. i., 

 Mr. Carr stated that on one occasion a pair of peccaries took 

 refuge in the rotten trunk of a fallen balata tree. They were 

 killed, and subsequently two more rushed out of the trunk. The 

 dogs went in a third time and dragged out a Mapepire about 

 7 feet 10 inches long. In the fight which ensued it bit four dogs, 

 and the two last bitten died in a very few minutes, owing to the 

 inability of their masters to capture them for treatment with local 

 bush remedies ; the first two bitten recovered. The Mapepire is 

 a sluggish brute. On one occasion one was seen on the top of a 

 small hillock. The man who found it went to tell Mr. Carr. He 

 was busily engaged at the time and could not go then. Subse- 

 quently he went home and had his dinner. A heavy shower of 

 rain came on, m hich delayed him half an hour longer still. When 

 he at last went he found the Mapepire as described still coiled on 

 the ground, the water streaming down from his coils. His servant 

 then went and cut a stick, and the snake, after all this delay of at 

 least 2| hours, was captured alive. The Mapepire and Bothrops 

 atrox suffer from large parasitic worms in their lungs. The young 

 ones of L. viuta are very rarely seen, while those of B. atrox are 

 olten found. The few specimens of Mapepire we have seen have 

 not done well in captivity. 



