South American Bushmaster
| South American Bushmaster | ||||||||||||
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South American Bushmaster ( Lachesis muta muta ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lachesis muta | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1766) |
The South American bushmaster ( Lachesis muta ) - also called Shushupe or Surucucu - is a ground-dwelling, nocturnal snake and lives in the rainforests of South America .
features
The tail end is pointed and horny, in front of it there are a number of thorny rows of scales. Similar to rattlesnakes , the bushmaster makes the tail end vibrate when excited. The color of the upper side is reddish-yellow with a longitudinal row of large, black-brown diamonds in which there are two small, lighter spots. The underside is yellowish white; the head is irregularly spotted black-brown.
Way of life
It kills smaller mammals with a venomous bite after ambushing them. It becomes about 2.5 m long, in exceptional cases up to 3.0 m. The Bushmaster is the longest viper in the world and the largest venomous snake in America. Its fangs are up to 35 millimeters long.
The Bushmasters are the only egg-laying ( oviparous ) pit vipers in America that also breed their eggs.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are described by the South American bushmaster:
- Lachesis muta muta - Ecuador, Peru, and northern Brazil
- Lachesis muta rhombeata - Eastern Brazil
literature
- Dieter Schmitt: Snakes - biology, species, terraristics. bede Verlag Ruhmannsfelden, 2006; Page 251. ISBN 3-89860-115-3
